Fingers crossed
, but it is fixed. . .
I hooked up my pancake compressor, set it to 20 (ish) psi and exercised the wastegate actuators. The right (passenger) side of the engine was fine. The wastegate moved and retracted as it should with pressure & relief.
The left (driver) side, the actuator barely moved. I tested the actuator for any air leaks (nope). So, I gave the wastegate lever hinge some PB Blaster to loosen it up. With a little bit of coaxing, the actuator and wastegate arm started moving as they should. So, I gave the wastegate mechanism a bit of a workout with 'squirts' of pressure.
I took the truck out for a test drive and the noise and flutter is gone. The truck accelerates smoothly . . . and . . . quite well I might add.
I guess I don't need a new tranny after all . . .