Thanks for the help guys-I was able to get the damn thing out. Well actually a friend of mine was LOL, I don't know how he managed to get it off but thank god he did. The old sensor was cracked on the upper left hand side which could explain the CEL code. We put the new one in and made sure not to over tighten the bolt LOL.
However, the car is still not able to pass 5,000 RPM at WOT so I'm back to square one. I never had any issues when the car was all motor so it's definitely turbo related. I am running heat range 7 plugs and gapped to .30. From what I've read on the forums that's about right for a t25 with 7psi. Could my sp gap be too small? Hitting the wall at 5,000 RPM is a waste of a boosted car!
btw..
330cc injectors @3bar
190lph fuel pump
b15 sr20de maf
93 octane gas
1 in and 1 out on SAFC II (I tried many settings 2/2, 3/3,4/4...and made no difference).
14.7 a/f ratio at idle, 11.2 WOT
NGK Plugs and OEM SP wires with OEM Cap and Rotor installed about 15,000 miles ago.