[DavidH]

snowman,
I didn't replace any rings, as a matter of fact I only took one bank of cylinders off as I knew I was just going to re-seal the case, everything went back in the same place it had come from.
I rechecked the cam timing this afternoon and everything was withing .010 left to right but I adjusted it and now all is within .002. For the 964 cam I used 1.26mm or .050 as the set point.
Next step is to do a partial if not full drop as someone has suggested vacuum leaks or a cracked boot. The compression test is a good thought as well. Thanks..
The mystery to me is why it would drive with power in reverse, backing up the steep driveway but have so little in 1st gear.