Sorry to hear you are having trouble, first thing that came to my mind was the pick up gap as well when I read you initial post. 16,000 miles on mine so far and no issues. Just adjusted my valves and when I pulled my spark plugs even those looked perfect and I put them back in. That's right my spark plugs have 16,000 miles on them and about to get more.

I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
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