Sorry it wasn't clear to me, maybe it wasn't clear to others, maybe not, IDK, but either way now it should be. Hopefully someone takes you up on this crowd sharing of info idea.
I have a '95 and have had the same issues you mention for a LONG time. I have not ventured down this road because of the lack of REAL info so I am following this thread with interest.
I do think @studigggs is onto something but I don't understand why you would shoot down his offer. IF he sends...
I've got a cracked manifold on my '95 K1500 5.7L truck and looking at options. I want to stay with cast manifolds and not switch to manifolds for simplicity so I've been looking at options and pretty much just see Dorman and ATP.
Dorman gets mention on here as being pretty rough out of the box...