This isn't my first nitro. Just needed to work the rust out of my tuning skills. + I had no idea what shape this motor was so I assumed it was dead.
If it's running good now does anything else really matter?
It only matters to you, it's your gear. I would not have gone in the direction you went, that's all. I am not there, I don't know what you really did and in what order you did it.