Can it really be dirty poppits if it perks up at around the same RPM in any gear. It seems that more load (hills, headwinds) moves that RPM up higher. I mean it really smooths out nicely. Also, it runs perfect when first started cold for about 30-40 seconds regardless of immediate driving or just idling in neutral. The main reason I question injector problems is that I've had 2 major problems in the past and everyone jumped on the injectors right away and it wasn't them either time. I ran injector cleaner through them a few weeks ago and that didn't change the problem at all and I always use non-ethanol gas.
I've checked for vaccuum leaks with both WD-40 and choke spray and I've replaced the plugs and wires with no change.
The distributor has a little bit of up-down play. You can hold it one direction and lift about .200" or so and feel the pitch of the cam gear. It's not enough to allow me to pull the cam sensor without pulling the distributor though. There's no noticable side to side play.
How does one clean the MAF sensor? I've always gone on the premise that choke spray, ether or any other cleaner will kill it. Also, this MAF is only 5 months old (the routine tune up back then) and it's output to the computer is in line with the Hanes recommendation.
Could this all be ANOTHER bad distributor cap? or cam sensor?