I didn't realize this. So if I understand correctly, any potential vacuum problems I may or may not have are unrelated to the hard upshifts. To me this means that either the engine needs to be tuned in some way, the transmission needs to be adjusted in some way, or a little of both perhaps. I think I will discontinue my interest in the vacuum system for now.

Today I started my next project - valve adjustment. I got halfway through before I quit and went online to order some valve adjustment wrenches. If it can be done with straight open ended wrenches, I can't imagine how. My hope is that this will help with the power and shifting problems. I was disappointed with the lack of results from cleaning and reattaching the banjo bolt and associated pressure line.