Alright, I'm going to see if you guys can chime in here, which includes pictures of the new gaskets. I took several high resolution pictures, which you can download the ZIP here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_...ew?usp=sharing
After removing upper intake manifold the broken bolt was exposed by about 1/4", and I barely used any force removing it. Phew! So why is that the case? There are no stripped threads, so I went ahead and cleaned the screw holes. I even manually hand tightened the bolt on its own and confirm it is not free spinning. I cannot find any cracks, and I even tried shining a flashlight through it.
After taking some pictures, I setup a light leak test by placing the manifold with gasket on a counter top. Then I added a 10 lb weight and shined a flashlight on one side. I even tried pressing down on it, but there's still a bit of light towards the center, but not the runners on each end. This seems indicative of the leak I've been dealing with.
So what's at fault? The new gasket (14032-
JK21A) versus the old (14032-
JK20A)? Signs of warping towards the center?