woohoo! i replaced all 4 sparkplugs and the motor hesitation is gone! i also did a compression test and after 5 turns of the motor i got: 225, 230, 230, 230. cylinder 3 showed 230psi so i think the motor is in good shape!!!
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=591181
my buddy at the local garage tested the motor and found the o2 sensor was reading rich, thus the ecu leaned out the motor. we're guessing the broken sparkplug in cylinder 3 wasn't igniting the fuel so the o2 sensor saw too much fuel in the exhaust. i'm going back to his shop tomorrow to get a new a/f reading with the plugs replaced. hopefully the lean problem is fixed or i'll accelerate my plans to buy the vafc.

just sharing the good news!

 

that is good news!

great to hear it wasn't a major problem.