Problem solved. I have
finally discovered the issue. I'm fairly thoroughly angry at myself for my poor memory. The
piston had a piece of skirt missing from the intake side (pics later). I'm mad at myself for two reasons:
1. I have encountered this previously and went through a long diagnosis process for that. It was an 029 Super.
2. If I had been more diligent in my cylinder inspection, I could have seen this issue as it would have been visible through the intake port. And I had multiple opportunities to view it during all the carb changes. Duh!
Rather than just change the piston, I put in a new Huztl kit (after spending some time on it with the grinder
)
I haven't put it in wood yet but do have the saw ready to go with bar and chain. I can't believe how many hours I've invested into this critter. Maybe gonna put it in my line up for a while and extract my vengeance from it.
Anyway, this long saga is coming to a close. Thanks again for the ideas and support.