Sounds like a wastegate issue. I've seen a similar problem working on a vr4 galant. It wouldn't boost above 22 psi, we changed the wastegate and now it's hitting 30psi.
I paid $4,600 two years ago for my 1995 Talon tsi awd with 110,000 miles. All the mods except ecmlink and 3" gm maf came on the car. It also had a fresh paint job. The only thing i had to replace since i bought it was a wheel bearing... knock on wood.