I highly doubt a 5.9L engine can run at 4krpms breathing through a hole smaller than 1/8"...so I don't get the comment about the "huge gaping hole"QUOTE]
Actually it can!!! The first time I started my engine I had a run away (I got it stopped as Van Haisley told me to ready for anything the first time I started it) so I had a piece of plywood close by. The first time I started it I was told I would more than likly have to ether it after trying to crank it and only seeing white smoke I went for the ether. Van told me to take the piping from the IC to the intake plenum off and ether it there instead of thru the turbo in case I had to shut it down very fast I could just slap the board across the plenum. I had my brother crank, I ethered it one little hit....fired right up like it should. Next thing I knew I had oil pissing out the dipstick and right into the intake plenum!!!!! Turns out I didn't remove the tape from the breather tube on the tappet cover from when it was painted and the only place for the vapors/oil to go was up the dipstick. The memory tach never went over 3800 rpm but it was still scary.
Anyway, I slamed the board over the intake and it slowed it down ALOT but was still running....WTF!!!!! I could hear a whistling sound comming from the side of the head. Turns out I had missed putting one of the plugs into the side of the head/intake when I plumed up my boost lines and the engine was running and breathing out of that hole (1/8" npt) at 1500 rpm. Sounds stupid but I put my finger over the hole and it died almost instantly...had a nice little hickey looking mark on my index finger for the next few days but was happy I stoped it!
Took the tape of the breather, plugged the hole for the boost line and it fired right now and its ran like a top ever since.
Ryan