I have it figured out now. The regulator was way too lean, and when I was trying to tune the first time I was running the engine on the ground too long. This time I was sure to let the engine warm up for 45 seconds then run the engine while tuning no more than 3 minutes for one period, followed by a 5 minute cool down. I was reading that most have the regulator set flush with the housing but found mine needed to be about 1/2 to 3/4 turn out from the housing. I then retuned and was getting a peak rpm of 9300, then I set it rich at 9000. The mid range is holding 4000 fairly steady with only a 100-200 rpm twitch. The low end is holding 1800.

Lesson learned: 1. Don't let it run on the ground long or else the heat becomes your enemy.
2. Set the regulator rich and work on going lean, rather than the other way around

Thanks for the help. Maybe someone else can learn from this as well!

YS POWER BABY!