@tubetime It feels like a safe guess that they are doing this to drag out timing elsewhere down the line. I guess the question would be which thing(s) need the extra delay. While not practical, I wonder if subbing in some HCT family parts elsewhere would make things better or worse. If the chips were socketed, I'd give that a whirl for the heck of it. Can you get a scope probe on any of the pins down the line for more insight on what's happening?