cant tell if turbo is sealed

[quickbrick]

i recently upgraded to a ta-49. ive only had it on for a couple days now. the first time i installed it the turbo started smoking for about 5 minutes before it quit. it looked like it was coming from below around the header. i took it out and drove it for a little while and noticed it was sluggish. the motor sounded strong but it was slow. couple days later i pulled it again and filed the flanges down on the 3 bolt flange. it seemed flat after i was done. i put it back on and it started smoking again in the same spot. only for about 2 minutes then it stopped. but it seems alot stronger than before. but i cant tell if its stronger than the stock one.the turbo whistle is noticably louder at 2500 on light throttle. is it supposed to be louder than the stock one?
i took it out after a couple days of letting it break in, and gave it over 3/4 throttle. the boost stopped at 10 psi and it didnt seem to be pulling hard at all. i had turned the wastegate down with the stock turbo cause it kept spikeing at 20 psi. well i turned the boost up some and it seems better but i still cant tell if its leaking. im using metal to metal like stock. should i just get a gasket for it? i do have a bov on it and i havnt heard it lately it makes no noise when i let go at half throttle.
also one more question one of my wastegate bolt holes on the turbo was stripped out a little. the bolt will tighten down but not with the wastegate on it. just doesnt have enough threads. if i use a little bit longer bolt will that damage anything internally.

 

[John Larkin]

If it stopped at 10psi, the BOV is probably leaking. I think Vader 87 had a similar problem. Try a search. As for the flange leak, lots do leak there. Loosen the bolts and smear it good with anti-seize on the faces of the flange. That helped me fix a leak and PTE recommended it. As for the stripped bolt hole in the compressor housing, you can try one a thread or two longer but if it bottoms out, it'll pull out threads too. There is thread fixer goo you can use; I've seen it in Eastwood catalogs.