my exhaust is 1 5/8 inch header tubes to 3 inch collector to dual 2 1/2 side exits with an H pipe after the collectors. i have dynatech split flow mufflers.

i thought it might be the valve seats too, but the cylinders hold pressure they just don't get much psi. and with the stock setup i was getting 120psi and holding it so it couldn't be the rings. i'll try advancing the cam staight up here in a few days and see if that will help.
about spark everything from the ignition switch to the spark plugs is brand new.
and i did swap out the springs that were on the head for Lunatis that were good to just over .600 lift with the installed height they're at. they have 120lbs. seat pressure and around 310 open.

what is DCR? and how could i have less cranking compression with higher static compression? the cam isn't that big. is 2* cam retard really that much?
i was getting 120psi with the stock cam and heads and head gasket and all that "low compression smog" stuff at this same elevation and everything else.

i also did a vacuum test and i'm only pulling 10in at my 700-800rpm idle????

i'm just curious, which g tech do you have? my friend has the old one. it's just a little black box with red numbers on it. and his has been pretty accurate thus far. with manual and automatic cars. low performance, high performance, all wheel drives, turbos, etc. i work at summit racing over in sparks, nv and we have dyno'd everyones hot rods who works there and g teched right after, so weather was the same, and yeah you lose a little because it measures pull and if you can't get all the power to the ground it shows, but the car that was most off number wise, was a 69 chevelle 396 with a 4 speed. his car ended up being about 20 hp short. now i have bought the new one for me because i thought they were all great, but the latest one out, with all the graphs and everything is so erratic and unreliable it's truly unbelievable. on the same road run after run after run with my cars and my buddies the numbers have varied almost 100hp. all i'm trying to say is i know it's possible for the g tech not to work, but i am a true believer in my friends'. and like i said we have used it on dyno'd cars, my truck for example and it was only 4hp off!

thank all of you for your help so far