OK, I've checked fuel pressure. Rock steady at idle at 44psi, when I rev and hold at about 2500rpm it dips very slightly (about 43psi) and comes back up to 44. WOT dips to about 42.5 and starts coming back up before I let off the throttle, and throttle response is very quick(it was sluggish and hard to start when I had a tired fuel pump that I changed out last spring)

http://www.cruzinperformance.com is who I have the email in to, so Eagle7's vote of confidence in them is reassuring, and the price looks good too... it's just a matter of how quick I'd be able to get them back.

I had compression numbers within 10psi of each other right around 180 when I installed the engine, so I don't think it is a head gasket thing. The valve thing is interesting... But I checked external temps on the header tubes with a contact pyrometer and got pretty close numbers for all 4 cylinders at idle. About 360F with the engine warmed up, which leads me to believe that all 4 cylinders would be running hot. Maybe it's just the fact that #3 is in the middle of the engine, so it fails because it can't get rid of the heat.

I talked to someone at Jim Wolf Technology and he said the stock injectors are 259cc, anyone know how much time they take to pass that ammount of fluid? He also said there is something seriously wrong with my engine and\or fuel system and that their computer would not compensate for it... you gotta at least appreciate his honesty!

I checked the fuel flow and I'm getting about 146 lph out of the fuel pump with no back pressure, but because the pressure doesn't drop significantly when I rev the engine, I am reluctant to attribute it to a low-flow problem from the pump.

Still floundering... any more ideas?
Thanks,
Mike