Hesitating and sputtering lower RPM - Solved
Pulled the heads off again and found a highly (Yelp) rated machine shop. They replaced all of the intake valves, repressed some loose guides and did a full valve job. Car runs great now. I mechanically passed a CA smog check this weekend, but failed due to a technicality (had the wrong sticker for my headers). Stupid state rules require me to get the correct sticker and rerun the test.
Moral of the story – Compression check, although a pain in the ***, are a necessary evil to eliminate obvious issues.





