Gears, Shmears.....W.T.F. Kiwi ?
You should have plenty of torque with that engine combination of yours; particularly at your altitude. And even enough to throw a line out and pull the vehicle beside you. 1700+ p.s.i. per cylinder gets a lot of work done!
Your cam isn't very big and is very close to the latest custom grind I had made for my own 8.3. It is around
[email protected] ground on a 115 c/l, if I'm not mistaken. (Early closing Intake); Designed for a really wide and usable power band and avoids the big peak Dyno Queen numbers.
Does the engine have a steady relentless pull like a big electric motor OR does it come alive at a certain r.p.m. (say 3800)?
Try a mini compression test on a couple of cylinders. The first 3 bumps should produce around 175 p.s.i. with your 11:1 c.r. and that cam, even with it installed straight-up (not advanced). If you only take out a couple of plugs, try 5 or 6 bumps to compensate for the starters lower speed.
(Not talking about cylinder-to-cylinder consistency here as with a conventional compression test; just looking for a peak number).
If it IS up around 175 and you still aren't happy, have your Tuner give you a couple more tunes with more initial advance. Say, 2 degrees and 4 degrees.
Sometimes those first tunes are conservative...175-ish ensures a solid base. If the cam is installed late, for example, the mechanical cylinder pressure will be lower and you will see it. Same with a vacuum gauge.
Anyhoo, we are both currently wounded, and even the thought of being able to actually do a short compression test is still a dream for me.
Gears, Shmears...
As long as we are having fun.