i was there also but was not sure about mentioning it as he seemed to have gotten it solved. but i guess there is more to the point so let's go there. there are two 3/8" ports and often they get mixed up. both need to be "common plenum" and not in any individual runners' power brake booster and pcv. in one case the pcv will starve the individual cyl of air/fuel and in another it will cause a pulse in vacuum signal. smaller lines are far less detrimental. the check valve is there for a different yet real reason to hold peak vacuum in the booster/reservoir while under throttle/load while engine vacuum is reduced