Driving home the other day, suddenly the car was just difficult to drive. It takes a little more gas to get moving. At idle, the vacuum flickers around. Also the boost wont hit over 6 or 7 psi instead of the 11-12 I usually get. Any ideas or suggestions of what to check out? I played around with the turbo and it seems in pretty decent shape, not too much play.

 

Sounds like a vacuum leak.

 

http://www.boostpro.net/prodtester.html I've found this tester useful for finding vacuum leaks and boost leaks. Or you can make your own. Depending on your setup, you may need a coupler/reducer to make this work.

 

^^^ I got the same tool. It's awesome. It made my life a heck of a lot easier just last weekend, and my car runs so much better. You can't get nearly as good results by trying to listen for changes spraying carb cleaner or the like around while it's running. You'll want this one:
Boost Leak Tester (Gauged)
3" Diameter)
With Male Compressor Coupler
$20 + $4.60 shipping

 

yes and if you spray soapy water around the engine bay while you are testing it helps a lot. it helped me find a leak where my IAT sensor is that I couldn't feel but I could hear barely.

If you don't have a nicer air compressor you can get the tire valve one.