yup checking compression is next up. I seafoamed it, but it's still doing it, although not as bad. I drove it 90 miles and it did it twice. Each time the engine was under load around 3200-3500 rpm ( I live in the mountains and clearing multi-thousand foot passes is a way of life). I just held the throttle position and it stopped after about 5 seconds. I can smell the oil burning before it happens too, and then POOF! I haven't ruled out an external leak onto the exhaust manifold either. BTW, I'm running synthentic oil in there, so I may switch to regular and see if it clears up too. Who knows...