Of course the rings were replaced. All cylinders have good compression, no white smoke from the exhaust... I think I need a new thermostat also because the cap was replaced like 7-8 months ago, but the thermostat was never replaced and it has about 212k on it. Ill change out both and see what happens.

BTW: Is it worth it to spend the extra bucks to get a performance thermostat, that opens at a lower temp?