I thought previously you had maybe a weak alt and in turn a weak
ignition system. But if the system "pulses", it could still be...
No CEL codes being thrown? I take it...no
I'm good until the backfire issue. That needs to be resolved.
Could be some unmetered air comming in somewhere. I'd check
gaskets at the TB/plenum/intake interfaces and any hoses involving
vacuum to these parts.
Then there is the PI intake. If this is set on a pair of nPI heads(as
I'm assuming here), this intake port mismatch is known to work well
in many cases. Some complain of low-end hesitations, lean conditions,
vacuum leaks @ intake/head seal, etc. You've probably heard all this.
I almost did the PI intake when mine cracked, but backed out. That'll
have to wait until I do the whole PI swap.
Surely someone with more experience with this kind of intake combo
will chime in and help. I just don't wanna send you on a wild goose
chase. But, that's where I'd start.
Good Luck. GT