I hadn't gotten to the point of thinking it was a compression issue.
no coolant in oil.
no oil in coolant.
no blow back in the coolant tank.
no noticeable smoking.
and when it pulls, it pulls like I think it should. Once it is above 2k, it just takes off.
BUT,
since I've ruled out so much already, compression test is back on the to do list.
I still have the old spark plugs that were in the truck before all this work started, I'll take a picture of then and post them up. Maybe someone with more experience than me at reading spark plugs will notice something I'm not. To me, comparing the plugs to pictures on-line, they look like either lean condition, or too hot of a plug, but I'm not certain either way.

What should the compression be?
Other than even across the board.