Where to look for loss of boost

[animal47]

Bought my 2001 aum with a stage one map fitted and it went really well with loads of boost from 2k, only fault was a bad maf that had been disconnected so my first job was to replace this as I am a fussy bugger about having fault lights on.
As soon as I had fitted it the car felt nice and smooth but although I could hear it start to spool at just under 2k it didn't make any noticeable power until it hit 3k and tbh under 3k it is pretty gutless. I have driven it like this for a while now as I thought the new maf had just altered things but tbh I am getting a bit annoyed with the lack of low down grunt now so today I disconnected the maf again to see if it would restore my missing power but it made no difference so I can only assume that I managed to damage something when I was wrestling the new maf into position. I have taken the engine cover off today and had a good look and feel around but can find no splits anywhere so can anyone suggest how I can trace the fault, there are no fault codes showing in vcds.

[xtetx]

Check the charge pipe / side mount! i upgraded to the AGU charge pipe, as the AUM has a daft connector rather than a hose clamp

[animal47]

That pipe was actually checked by my mechanic a little while ago and he said it was still a nice tight fit. I am specifically looking for something that I may have damaged whilst changing the maf although I have just had it all apart again and still can't see anything wrong.
I do have some oil around what I am assuming are the pcv pipes under the inlet but although I tried to take it all apart for a better look, there are so many little pipes, plugs and clips that I just couldn't work out how to access any of it without risking breaking stuff.

[pickles]

smoke/pressure test  to check for leaks.

[animal47]

smoke/pressure test  to check for leaks.

That is exactly what I am thinking now as it seems the simplest way rather than to keep pulling things apart and risk more damage.
Now I just need to find someone nearby who is able to do the test for me.

[Wazzzer]

VAG COM and do some logs, you can log actual vs requested boost and a few other bits to see what's going on

[animal47]

VAG COM and do some logs, you can log actual vs requested boost and a few other bits to see what's going on

I did actually try and get some logs with vcds but tbh I didn't really know what I was doing. I could really do with some pointers on how to get the correct logs as I'm afraid I am a bit ocd with everything working as it should on my cars so this is driving me crazy lol.

[pickles]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F5vmldtnxs  quick video of the bean can and tyre valve method, theres loads of info m8, just google boost leak tester.