Ok, I'll try releasing some then. I guess it's Ok to just release from low side?

 

Did you spray water on the condenser to see if the pressure drops? Spray it hard, besides that, you're also cleaning the coils.

 

Not yet. I think I'm done messing with it for today, got to get a few other things done now. I went ahead and let out a bunch into a towel. So now it's reading about 47 psi. And that's after 40 mins or so of running. Drove it and checked the temp. Before the coldest was 53 deg. now I'm getting 48 deg. It might get a little colder, I just drove a mile or so around neighborhood. Yes, tomorrow I'll spray out the front end. Wasn't there another condenser or something towards the back to clean? Can that just be hosed off?

 

Cooling the condenser is a diy way to check for possible line blockage, since you only have the low side gauge.Try it and see what happens. Hood open or closed just spray water at the condenser while running and see if the pressure drops.