>all i can get is about 112 PSI compression cold (with like 8 pulls)
to me, 300 cords is a lot of cutting. I have some 1997 stihl saws bot new, one is 026, both still running great! but they have not cut that much wood, despite cutting a lot of wood. compression is for all intents and purposes what takes place above the piston once the cycle goes into the compression stroke, prior to the ignition event. only one thing holds the compression in there... the rings. I am working currently on an 044 project, acquired saw not running. scored piston, no compression. the reason I mention it is because while the exhaust side of the piston is scored and rings stuck... the intake side rings are not and they exceed the ring lands OD. in working with it, and new parts, ie new rings... I note the old rings can be squeezed into lands to allow the OE cyl to drop down (just did it once, for heck of it) [cyl good] with almost no effort. this is a saw that saw daily Arbortist use... was running swell at end of day on a Friday, died 15 mins into Saturday... I picked it up Sunday...
it was full of fresh bar lube and gasoline mix. so no doubt since your vid shows ur piston and cyl's bore to look good... your rings have just run the limits of their service life's utility. or are very close to it, ie - 300 cords. more than likely, assuming the nikasil is still intact a new set of rings and some light hone to the bore would bring your saw back into good running compression. piston kit even better! key is to ensure adequate cross hatch, hard to do with nikasil, but some scratching 100, 220 grit hand honed and spotlessly clean inside all parts... [I would not power hone it with a ball grit on wires hone!] and properly oiled for the top end reassembly would let the rings seat nicely. many like the Meteor ring. I only needed a piston/rings for my OE rework to cyl... and I chose Meteor despite numerous others out there due to the company's history and product quality. for me, the solution was in the rings! so rings had to be top-notch for best repair job and results. I was looking at a $20 piston/ring combo but opted for the $40 Meteor piston/ring combo because it came with Meteor rings... few years back when Meteor (Italian) got sold, also acquired by new buyer was their ring division. their rings are excellent rings!
if this was my project, I would pop the top, clean things up and replace the wrist pin bearing OE, and put in a Meteor piston, wrist pin and rings. ensure the combustion chamber is decarbonized. by all means, I would keep the OE cylinder... unless nikasil gone, but yours looks great per the vid. also know, however, that the Meteor piston is a bit heavier than the OE one... about 10 grams... Meteor wrist pin about 1 g. heavier. the new piston will tighten up some if any wear on old piston that could allow it to rock at TDC rollover, particulary down on lower skirt areas. u will want to ensure the ring's outter surface as parallel to bore as possible. if you repair, ensure the rings are install properly! ez to bend them, or worse, break them! things happen fast at 200+ times per second! and i would break it in easy. at least 3-4 tanks fuel mix at 40:1... maybe first tank 32:1. important not to abuse the seating process, so care is req'd. then just light work, couple more 40:1 tanks, but no all day cutting. after some easy cutting, etc, then should be ok to go to work. I would always run 40:1 in it, use stihl
low ash oil and a good octane, or no ethanol gasoline mix. u will have to add oil if u use that as its 50:1....
hope this helps you some...