Hello again all. need some more input.
So, the cars been running really well, looks great too with help from borini63.
with in the last 2 weeks or so...ive had to put in 2 containers of antifreeze.
at first, i noticed a hose was just loose...almost off actually, but then i noticed its leaking from just under the water pump. will be getting that replaced. but here are my issues.

belt squeals when i take off from stop or try to accelerate quickly on the highway. i am wondering if this is merely due to the coolant leaking onto the belt.
next, whilst trying to accelerate on the highway, if i punch the gas all the way in, RPM drops and i go nowhere. let out a bit and picks up a little. only got up to 55mph yesterday. im thinking its the catalytic converter, but hoping its not... your thoughts?

and to avoid doing the newbie thing, here's the car details.
81 280zx turbo coupe.
all stock(except aftermarket fuel pump and filter)

 

Belts squeal when they are loose. Tighten it.

As for the lack of power / hesitation... when was the last tune up? Checked the timing? Checked the sensor connections?

 

But don't over tighten it! That could lead to premature failure of your soon to be new water pump :P I'd also check the condition of the belt.

 

good news, belts were cleaned of excessive anti-freeze and tightened, water pump has been replaced, had some corrosion on the contacts in my distributor so i got new cap & rotor...all is well again. it will sputter at me once in a great while now, but i can drive on the highway again. hooray
side note: u all weren't kidding when u said it isnt easy to read the timing marks...jeesh, could it be any closer to the bottom?

 

That's why a timing light with an electronically adjustable timing is nice. 0 deg isn't to hard to get but 10 or 20 is a bit of guess work....

Don't forget the idler pully bearing can fail causing squeeking.... then smoking once the bearing completely fails

 

well F-bomb...
still backfiring at me @ WOT.
popped open the afm, adjusted plate so the swiper arm wasn't in the grooves any more...thought that would fix my problem but i was mistaken.
so...open to other ideas here's as much as i can tell you.
'81 280zx turbo coupe
after market fuel pump.
fuel pressure running at 87psi
new spark plugs/wires
new fuel & air filters
new water pump(obviously)
have already run marvel, seafoam, and injector cleaner(no, not all at the same time)
i read that the turbo's timing is not controlled by the distributor(edit: side note, the pick in the manual shows the crank angle sensor being right out in the open, mine is hidden behind a pulley. did they omit that so u could see it?), and am wondering if they guy at the shop even changed any thing at all, and maybe thats all that is wrong.
is there anything im missing?

 

Update:
i am thinking it may be the TBS.
the previous owner apparently severed the far left lead and put butt-connectors on the other 2 leads. after reading the manual it shows that the far left lead is not used anyway, but using butt connectors? im thinking i need to solder the leads together to get the extra resistance out of there.
if its not that...im thinking vacuum leak somewhere.

 

Please tell me your fuel pressure running at 87 PSI is a typo...

The '81 turbo has the variable reluctance CAS setup (eg the sensor by your harmonic balancer) whereas the '82-83 turbo has an optical encoder wheel in the distributor.

You can set the initial timing on the turbo by rotating the distributor. After that the stock ECU will adjust timing electronically whereas the NA adjusts the timing via mechanical and vacuum advance.

 

sadly, not a typo. im aware its supposed to be around 31psi...but its not.
i took it to the shop(see my first post) & they replaced the pressure regulator, but when they did, the car wouldnt run at all, so they put the old one back on. they said there must be something else wrong but wanted wayy too much money to just figure out what it was.

i tried turning the distributor and nothing changed. on the 81 turbo supplement i downloaded on page ef-46 right at the top in the middle it says

"a. ignition timing cannot be adjusted on the distributor"

it also says "ignition timing is automatically controlled by the control unit...ignition timing can go wrong if the crank angle sensor mounting position gets out of alignment"

so... idk what the hell im doing. i was in the garage @ the shop i took it to when he "adjusted the timing." all he did was twist the distributor a bit and i noticed no change. he did fix the rough idle with the throttle stop screw by taking it up to around 850rpm instead of the 750 specified

EDIT: now its idling all unevenly. i come to a stop light and it surges up and down from 700rpm to 1000rpm. some times stalls out