Thanks all for responding!

Jim Felder: Nope, not running the engine w/o the filler cap, just had it
open for filling while doing the tests.

Edward: The documentation provided by tencentlife (well-written, BTW)
states that the external plumbing and cooler soak up an additional pint
of oil to fill.

Scott: I have no idea how long the oil pressure lamp has not been
working. I feel foolish for not noticing it. Fortunately I have to pull
the engine tin on the left side to install an adapter so I can connect a
separate oil pressure sender, so I'll screw with the dash sender at that
time and see what's up. Blown bulb, failed sender, funky wiring, yeah, I
can troubleshoot that. Thanks.

Dennis: Thank you, your description of what happens when there is
insufficient pressure perfectly matches what I heard and saw. And helps
me visualize why the engine ran so poorly.

Chris S: This setup has the air intake relocated beside the oil cooler.
The air intake has direct access to the air coming down the D-pillar,
sharing it side-by-side with the cooler. There is no fan, though adding
one would be simple and might be a good idea for those situations like I
experienced last summer, when I was slowly grinding up steep desert
grades in over 100 degree heat, hauling my little utility trailer. First
gear at 4,000 rpm doesn't provide a lot of air ram but it sure does heat
the engine. Anyone know a good source for beefy little 12 VDC fans? I
don't know if a computer type muffin fan could take the engine bay
environment.

My oil pressure/temp gauges have not yet been installed. First the new
plumbing (Gowesty external ATF cooler, tencentlife external oil cooler)
goes in (that was this weekend); then the senders go in (install the
modified OP sender rig mentioned above, and am waiting on delivery of
short-nose temp senders to fit the plumbing); then wire up in the
instrument pod and wire the gauge cluster. THEN I'll have some
instrumentation!!!!

--
Rocky J Squirrel