I'm getting some misfire at around 8-9k and then a lot past 9k. you can see a little dip on power at around 8700, some misfire there, then after 9k, a lot of misfire. i let off before before hitting rev limit at 9300 because of so much misfire. the check engine light is not blinking from misfire (which it has before at lower rpm during cruising, but went away when i replaced MAF sensor).

New ported engine
AC Delco D585
Bennett Built LS coil harness and MSD 8.5mm plug wire.
Versatuner

Just thoughts that you may have already addressed but didn't mention...

Have you tested the coils with an HEI tester? The D585s are supposed to be more robust but that doesn't eliminate the possibility of one or more going bad.
Also, have you altered the coil dwell settings? All else being equal, D585 coils need a longer dwell than OEM.

all components are new. did not test coils with HEI tester. did not change dwell settings. wasn't sure what these numbers represent in the dwell table.

This thread has good info. It also has tons of the usual petty bickering and stuff.
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-eng...ssport-178635/

This post specifically relates how to convert from the dwell table to human-usable numbers:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-eng...5/#post4260808

Here's TeamRX8's big contribution with his usual flair...
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-eng...5/#post4311570

I'm not saying this will definitely solve your problem but it's a potential issue.

thanks for the info, i'll dig through them.

No prob. I'm using the values from TeamRX8's post with D585 coils and haven't had any problems at high RPM during track/AX use.

That said, if you think that's a good reason to copy my work copying his work, I have some elephant repellant to sell you.