None of these rules works every time. (Ain't that just the way?) For example, I have in my hot little hands a new piston for a TS760, and it is marked with an arrow that points toward the ring gaps. The old piston I took out of the same saw was marked the same way. BUT I also have here a used piston from an MS180. That one is marked with an arrow that points away from the ring gaps. Just to add a bit more confusion, the "ring gaps toward the intake" and "ring gaps away from the exhaust" rules don't always fly either. In my examples, the MS180, like the majority of saws, has its intake and exhaust ports on opposite sides of the cylinder, and the piston was installed with the gaps toward the intake. But the TS760 cylinder has "stacked" ports -- both on the same side of the cylinder, and the original piston was installed with the ring gaps toward both ports. The only "rule" I can see that applies in both these cases, assuming the old pistons were installed correctly, is that the arrow should point toward the exhaust port. With the MS180, that puts the gaps toward the intake and away from the exhaust. With the TS760, that puts the gaps toward both ports, BUT the ring gap pins are widely enough separated that they don't show through either port.
Clear as mud?