I contacted a couple SRT engineers over the weekend, and had a conference call with them today. They were concerned with what I'd reported, and want to help figure things out. They asked all sorts of technical questions about the setup of the car, weather conditions, any mods, etc.. I gave them all the input I had. We discussed the IAT (Intake Air Temp) and also engine coolant temps. I reported that my SRT Application Gauge pack showed the IAT around 111-112F while idling, and my coolant temps were 180-190F for the most part. They were leaning towards this being the most possible cause for the aggressive reduction in power. Their tune pulls out ignition timing as IAT's cross over 100F, and the coolant temps breach 190F. Neither of these would matter on a road course, as the car is moving and the radiator works more efficiently. But, when idling 10-15 ft at a time in a drag strip staging lane (think of very heavy traffic) and then idling after doing a burnout while you stage the lights - both of those temps are easily excessive to their respective sensors.
This results in the computer thinking the ambient conditions aren't good, which can pull timing and reduce power. If there was any vibrations that may have been incorrectly setting off the knock-retard sensors, then it could also result in reduced power. The problem is that once these low-timing maps are triggered, they take some engine driving cycles to fully regain the power back. That is likely why my car felt like it was back to normal, after 20 min into my drive home on the freeway. Until that drive cycle, the car might assume you have a bad tank of fuel, or it is very hot outside.
Seems like the coolant temp issue could be resolved by a simple thermostat swap.
The IAT sensor is on the intake piping, it picks up a lot of heat from the radiator when sitting still. I may try and insulate that area, so that idle/radiator temps do not skew my temp sensor. It was in the 62-65F range outside that night, which is what the IAT should have been reading. It probably did drop down on the readings as soon as I took off, but the timing map was already set for the higher temp it was reading.
I asked about their removal of the PCM pigtails on the dyno video. They said that it had nothing to do with the dyno pulls, they only pulled them to plug their computer into those PCM ports to monitor data that was logged after the pull. So, that mystery is solved.
I have the track rented out for Nov 10th, will try doing a few things differently this time. Hopefully I can figure it out.
Good discussion, so far! They asked for me to keep them updated.