Hmmm... Good theory. I'll see if the bearings feel rough. I don't think they do but I'll double check, but the engine is new.

Something I left off was that the head was shimmed becasue it kept overheating. I thought it was overheating due to the 10% nitro, hence the head shim, but even with the shim its still getting really hot.

If I pulled the cyclinder do you think I would see gouges?