http://i54.tinypic.com/2aietl3.jpg
ahhh - the port is one the gearbox's cylinder
now if somebody has overhauled it they could of fitted a full cylinder instead of a correct ported cylinder
Now I ain't saying it is this but now we know its s/hand so it could be what the previous owner f*cked up
or was crap so they flogged it so to speak
Just coz you can't see the port it could be other side or even hidden underneath
just saying with a bad port all sorts of weird stuff can happen
BUT it may very well be numerous other things - but might be worth checking if your cylinder port looks like that pic one
if it is that is one thing to rule out - if you can't see the hole in cylinder you might be able to rotate it and see if it is underneath/other side etc....
if it has the port for say 275 barrel - guessing the length btw
then it can then be ruled out and look towards barrel/hop etc....
and I'm just making this up as i go along