I actually know the owner of the boat (he's my mom's boss) and know the boat has just been sitting on the lift everytime I pass by.

Just want to clarify my post. It was crimps/swages on the end fittings of the Parker Paraflex hoses on the inside of the boat ... at the helm and where they go through the transom. Also, a 1996 502 MPI would most likey be the VST style efi system that had the Vapor Separation Tank (VST). From what I remember, that piece of hardware was troublesome and could be expensive to replace, but have not heard anything about it in recent years, probably due to being 12 years old. I believe they switched to the now current EFI system around 1998 or so.

I can't speak for the 29', but in my 27', it's not hard to plane at all. I have a 502 bastard motor... serial # says MPI, carb on top says not MPI, plus it's been rebuild, so probably between 390-415 hp. It doesn't exactly jump on plane, there's some bow rise and it takes a few seconds if i'm fully loaded with fuel and passengers, but i've never had any problems that i'd classify as "difficulty" getting on plane. Drive in, tabs down, it comes on plane just fine.