hesitating echo

[hamlincheese]

hello all,
i must say that this is a fantastic website!

heres the deal... i just bought an 01 echo from a friend and ive noticed a few problems in the performance. hopefully someone can help me clear this up. first off, the check engine light was on, so i took it to the dealer (ouch!!) and they determined that when the VVT sensor was replaced (about a year ago) the mechanic didnt disassemble then reassemble the cam, which apparently is necessary (?). they did this dissassemble/reassemble and it cleared the check engine light up however, it did little for performance. what im experiencing is pretty low power when going up hill, even small hills. its virtually impossible to accelerate when going up hill, especially at highway speeds. the car feels like it wants to go because when the rpm's get high, it'll actually starts to boogie. the problem is when i shift, the rpms drop and i feel a hesitation/pulsation in the acceleration. im wondering if this could be a symptom of faulty reassembly. or maybe a vacuum problem.

ive changed the plugs and filter and also cleaned out the MAF and reset the computer. im not certain that i cleaned off the sensor well enough because the deeper of the two sensors within the unit is impossible to get to with a qtip. does this sound like the preformance you'd get with a dirty sensor? its also been about 300 mi since i did this which seems like a long enough time for the computer to adjust. its been a while since ive driven such a small vehicle, but this thing should be capable of scooting right along and accelerating up slight inclines right?

jeff