that could have been the initial cause prior to my ownership, however immediately after purchasing the vehicle i swapped in an MC2100 and thus removed, replaced, or rerouted every vacuum line in the vehicle. the rear port on the valve cover has a fram breather that is routed to the underside of the air cleaner. the front port on the valve cover has a pcv valve which is routed to pcv port on the rear base of the carburetor.

But as for my oil pump question...

so you believe a high volume oil pump is not necessary regardless of milage? that works for me

what about tackwelding the pickup tube to the pump? have you heard of this/is it a good idea?

is pump replacement straight forward or are there any possible snags?