Alright, I have been troubleshooting a slow crank issue and finally found that if the clutch is pressed all the way in the starter wont turn over the motor. If I press it just enough to activate the switch - engine fires right up. I pressed the clutch all the way in when engine was running and heard a grinding noise - engine also stuttered. I will probably have to drop the transmission again but am curious if anyone has had this issue and could point me at what to check first.

 

So if anyone comes across this later, it appears the fork was rubbing against the pressure plate. I found metal shavings when I took off the clutch cylinder that works the fork. I will be looking at adding some washers as spacers to the housing to see if that is indeed the issue as this person(#12) did in this thread: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...utch-fork.html

If anyone has had this issue and wants to say how they corrected it, Im all ears. I figured I could purchase a different fork but tbh, not sure what spec to look for.

Edit: fork T bolt came loose and somehow wiggled out - tightened, car starts right up and no issues.