Thanks for the quick replies, man,

No, it is not shifting any differently with the modulator unplugged... it still slips/flares with 0 vacuum. Whether there is vacuum or no vacuum it's the same thing, it feels like it did when there was too much vacuum and the VCV was not working properly. But, as I said, even when I unplug the modulator and feed it 0 vacuum, its the same as having it plugged in and feeding it too much vacuum.

The funny thing is that it had the opposite problem when I first got it, then it ran fine as I removed the vacuum leak and adjusted the VCV, then after a few days it started misbehaving this way, slipping/flaring all the time.