I was told by my tuner to try the stock wastegate, I would think the TS was better, but I don't know what he's looking for in the datalog. As for being in over my head, thats a two-sided coin. While this is the first car I've ever owned with a turbo, so this is all new to me as far as all the extra stuff involved with turbo engines. However, I've torn down complete engines and rebuilt them, 4 actually over the years in various vehicles. So i'm not new to engines and how they work, but I have no experience with turbos. I don't feel like I shouldn't have the confidence in my abilities to work on one, and yet this thing is a PITA. I've checked for boost leaks, replaced the BOV just in case that was bad, all new gaskets and hose clamps, went over the whole intercooler looking for stone damage or possible cracks that might leak, adjusted the Wastegate from 3mm to 2mm in case I was over pre-loaded. I have not had a smoke test done yet, but at this point, I don't really know what else to try. Maybe taking it to a shop would be best for me since I'm not having any luck. I just don't understand how with the stock turbo i was running e30 and had zero issues, all I did was pull out the old turbo and put in the new. Nothing else changed, how could all these possible problems just happen out of the blue? That's why I'm blaming the turbo or the wastegate, thats all thats new ( other than clamps , gaskets, and BOV) I obviously understand this is my shortcomings and probably not the products, I'm just frustrated at this point.
I don’t blame you for being frustrated . Working on cars can do that even with experience.
If your tuner did not even tell you what to set up for monitoring I would consider another tuner. I am just saying.