High oil pressure woes

[Slomper]

Hi, no stranger to forums but new here. Just bought an 88 4wd 5spd Vanwagon last week. It drove home (2 hours) beautifully the first night then the next morning it died exiting the ramp after an hour drive. Wouldn't restart so I parked it awhile and came back to it later. I found oil leaking from the spark plug tubes so I sealed those up and I tightened the throttle cable a little to get the idle up. I guess maybe I bumped it loose from the mount and it was too slack? I got the van home and its puking oil out the valve cover or something now. Barely stays running. Cranks forever then finally chugs to life. I checked the oil psi and it's about 30 psi at idle and 70 psi at 3000 RPM. When cold it hits the low 80s. I'm wondering if this high oil pressure could be making it run so poorly, and what to do about it. Ive replaced the oil filter. Sevice manual says it should be like 76 at the most. Could a head gasket leak be pressurizing my oil? What happened to my dream van?

[originalkwyjibo]

Check your pcv valve and crankcase vent hoses to see if they are plugged. The manual says 36-71 psi at operating temperature. I'd say your oil pressure is fantastic. Do you know what viscosity oil the previous owner used? If you're unsure and the oil pressure is concerning you than drain it and refill with a good quality 10w30 and see what the pressure does. Some people feel the need to use ridiculously thick oil and think the more pressure the better. I thought that too when I was a teenager and got the bright idea one oil change to run Valvoline racing 50 weight in an old truck I had. It didn't end well.