(Didn't exactly know where to put this so sorry if its in the wrong section!)Hey all, I'm sure many of you are stoked to see yet another post about lack of power but this is my last resort after putting blood sweat and tears into this car haha. I have a 1985 Toyota Celica gts with a 22re, the original engine in the car was the 22rec with a egr delete and after that one exploded I swapped a new 22re long block also with an egr delete. The engine runs well at idle (right around 800rpm), it even runs well at higher rpm (no backfire/misfire) but it has a HUGE lack of power. Now I've read through probably over 100 different posts but none of them match what I'm experiencing exactly. When cranked it fires up immediately, when I rev past 4k rpm warm or cold the CEL comes on giving me a code 12. When I drive the car 1st gear is pretty much non-existent in that it has ZERO power. Once I build speed it's able to maintain speed but if I try full throttle it actively slows down the car with how little power it has. When driving I have to match my throttle to my rpm and if I exceed this matched position with my rpm and add more throttle, the rpm will build but the car will not increase speed AT ALL. I can't emphasize this enough how weird the feeling is that I have to match my throttle position to the rpm. None of these issues were present with the old engine and I've used all the old parts except for the main block. The only lead I have right now is the code 12 which is either the knock sensor or the distributor not sending a signal to the ecu. The Knock sensor when plugged in causes a short in the gauge cluster and blows that fuse, so before I spend a bunch of time tearing into the wiring harness I'm hoping someone might be able to share some insight!
New timing chain (metal guides, tensioner etc.)
New water and oil pump
New timing chain cover
New ignition coil
New fuel regulator
New o2 sensor
New fuel pump
Reused MAF
Reused tps (Works since the rpm drops when connector is shorted)
Reused EFI
Reused valve cover
Reused fuel injectors
Reused knock sensor
Reused distributor & cap
175 psi in each cylinder
Recently did a valve adjustment
Fuel pressure at the fuel rail is around 32 psi, and on is around 40 psi

Any info/insight is greatly appreciated!!

 

can the knock sensor be ohm'ed out? aka, how is it tested.

the easiest start to troubleshooting the harness would be to unplug the knock sensor and see where the schematic shows the wire going, probably back to the ecu?? unplug that and seen if the knock sensor wire is shorted to ground? just guessing i haven't looked at it.