Paul,How big was that 2 stroke with the .005 gap?
IIRC it was a Hodaka Ace 100, ported to PABATCO porting specs, with a reed valve added, using a Weisco single ring piston. We set it up at 0.005, but after a little run in, it settled in at about 0.006".
However, quite a different engine. I'm glad you found your answer.