hmm... the dist is an msd billet unit... I need to measure it... The only thing I can say is that my primer guide is an old dist housing cut down, and it does the same thing with the drill on it as it does with the engine running.. pressure comes up good, hits 70, and shortly after starts dropping...

ran with cut down valve covers. DID notice that some of the lifters oiled more than others, but have noticed that on many other small blocks int he past. all are getting oil, none are dry, and the oil is flowing back through the heads fine.
The only correlation I have between the two engines is cam/lifters, and the crankshaft.. at least that have to do with oiling. I am going to "once again" check the pickup tube and oil pump. If no difference is found, I am going to pull the crank back out of it.. is it possible that it was drilled wrong? While there I will check end play again, rod side to side clearance etc... I just have difficulty believing those things can cause the problem to be so severe.. I have pulled worn out engines apart with massively excessive clearances that still held SOME oil pressure... Please gents, keep thinking, I'm taking the advice and checking on it all at this point, even if I have done it before.