There used to be an article on unplugging the vacuum line to check fuel pressure, but for the life of me, I cannot find it. (Might not have been on formulasource, though).

At any rate. On my 3rd gen, with the vacuum attached, I get 45psi of fuel. With the vacuum unplugged (and sealed off), fuel pressure raises to 60psi. Are these numbers normal? I thought fuel pressure should only increase about 6-8psi without vacuum?

With vacuum attached, at normal AU at sea level, the fuel pressure should be 43.5 psi. With vacuum removed, the fuel pressure should go up, but 60 psi is a bit much. Try this...crank the engine several times, but do not start it (disconnect the coil, but do not short the output), check the pressure, it should be 43.5 psi. Then, with the key off, engine not running, the pressure should fall off to around 37 psi. Pressure should hold overnight at around 12 psi. If you see anything outside of these figures, then the fuel pressure regulator is probably defective. These figures are plus or minus one or two psi, but the cranking fuel pressure should be exactly 43.5 psi. Fuel pressure regulators do wear out.

Another problem could be the fuel pressure gauge itself. Try it on another car, or compare it against another gauge.

I'll give that a shot this afternoon. Thanks!