OK! PROBLEM TOTALLY SOLVED! it was pre-ignition from the timing being so far advanced. i set both gears to 0, and it runs like down f-ing town! the exhaust also got a little louder when coming down from a rev, if that makes any sense. now i can actully press the throttle more than 1/4 way down!! yippee. now i'm ready for the turbo setup, and i'm gonna track down that rascal john vega and have him hook me up on the dyno! no more ghetto-ass tuners. weel, thanks for all the help guys, hopefully this thread can, in turn, help someone else out in the future.