19 GTI bucking under low load

[shovelhd]

I have a pretty high end code reader I can see live values with but no vagcom or obd11. What values would you be checking out of curiosity?

You don't need to get to the live value logging stage yet. Look for generic codes first. Misfires. Lean cylinders. Emission control codes. Stuff like that.

I'm thinking bad gas and/or plugs. If you're always lugging the engine around watching the fuel mileage, things can get crudded up quickly, even at 23K miles.