86 110 v4 compression

[zuki76]

Hello all. Hi I am in the middle of diagnosing a sluggish acceleration problem. This happens under load. Engine starts and idles ok but falls on its face under acceleration. I did a compression test and all 4 cyl. read 32-34 after approx five revs or so(would not go higher than 34 even after many more cranks). I know this is extremely low would you suspect a faulty compression guage or is it possible motor could still run and idle this low?. thank you in advance for any help or advice with this or anything else to check while diagnosing this.

[boats.net]

Engine would not run with 34 psi compression, need to get a different gauge.