Turns out that GT ecu is NOT junk. The issue lies in a harness mismatch. Apparently, GT dash/body harnesses and Cobra ECU/engine harnesses don't mesh. I'm NOT going through the hassle of repinning the OEM harnesses to jive and made the decision to buy [another] Holley HP standalone for the car. This will leave tons of room for growth and I can sell off a bunch of stuff to recoup cost.