Chris, thankfully there is no dead spot and no whine. And I'm hoping that isn't the issue. I had a chance to stop by Sun Valley MB Dismantlers on my way through LA last Friday. They diagnosed it as bad motor mounts and showed me that the engine moved R-L alot, and probably caused the low rev feeling when cold (it deminishes when warmed up). With luck, I'll have the new ones in by next week. I didn't get the tranny mount, and will see how these work first. PS - I appreciate that SVMD didn't diagnose it as something they could sell me, and instead they told me how to do the repair.