I narrowed it down to the PCV system on a whole... Since my oil filler tube was messed up I decided to cut it short which initially was letting oil escape past the oil cap and run down the engine. So, I used a stainless steel scouring pad to fill the remainder of the tube in hopes of slowing down the escaping oil. That worked a little too well effectively plugging the tube and not allowing the crank case to breathe. That caused the PCV to suck too hard on the crank case gumming up the valve. I've now taken the steel mesh out of the filler tube and installed a K&N breather cap on the top, cleaned out the PCV and replaced the hose. Initial drive afterward proved to be a lot better. Now I'll change the plugs and hope that the residual oil in the intake burns out fairly quickly. Thanks for the pointers once again... this thing has been a pretty steep learning curve for me!
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