Thanks for all the inputs! I turned the screw on the vacuum amp full CW, and shifts are now much crisper, especially the 1-2 shift. No flaring detected yet. May not mess with the modulator at all--we'll see how it does with this change.

Sometimes I think the Alda could use additional tweaking--occasionally seems a bit sluggish off the line. And there's no black smoke, even when I punch it. Maybe that would help the shifting a bit, too.

Rob