Deckstripes

Thanks in advance for anyone who replies to this.

The patient is a 94 LT1 in a caprice. Sorry it's not an F body, but it's still an LT1, and it's saving my Z28 from car-eating road salt right now.

This AM, it was only half warmed up, and I had opened it all the way up for some interstate merging. High rpm, it started surging, and I could hear a noticeable change in the intake pitch with the surge. Repeated it twice when I went WOT to verify. Wouldn't do it after full warmup. The closest thing I could compare it to is a cylinder dropping in and out.

Here's what I think. The car BARELY needs a manifold gasket. Ticks when it's cold, but goes away when the manifolds heat and expand. Is it possible that I was getting extreme knock sensor retard from the exhaust leak?

Anyone else experienced severe timing retard that caused a similar symptom?