Thanks a lot for the input fellers. I'll have to admit, I have been trying to fine tune the oiler adjustment. If I can remember correctly, I think the saw came from the shop with the oiler adjustment screw two turns out from the closed position. The manual for the 372xp recommends this adjustment for up to an 18" bar. I cut mostly beech and maple for firewood and this just didn't seem enough, plus I've got a 20" bar. Three turns out was recommended for this bar length.
At this adjustment I seemed to get sufficient oil. I put about two tanks through like this, each time the gas went first. Not sure why the third tank was different. Maybe I under filled the oil tank just a little compared to the gas tank or maybe the adjustment screw moved a little...not sure (the gas did run out just after about two cuts from when I suspect the oil ran out). I'm going to keep an eye on this closely and check the oil level often.
What I'm really trying to get a better handle on is the impact of what happened. I know excess heat can do major damage to equipment mechanically. All I can find from different manual (checked Stihl's too for reference) is that it's bad to run out of oil, and damage can occur to the bar and chain relatively quickly. They don't say much else. I did see a little smoke while cutting, and the bar was pretty hot but once it cooled I couldn't really see any much else but a little brown discoloration on the chain teeth. I'd like to be able to tell if I did enough damage to have the possibilty of the chain snapping in operation, or if I did damage to other saw parts like the clutch or drive sprocket (will grease that for sure!). Any thoughts or experience on that?
Thanks again for the tips!
mark