Engines with lack bottom end power?

It sounds to me like you are having a gearing issue. You stated that you have 2.xx gearing. That is high gearing(low numerically) and will rob some bottom end, but give you better characteristics on the highway...lower rpm at 70mph and better gas mileage for example. On an episode of Roadkill on Motortrend TV, they had a similar issue. The engine would barely spin the tires due to a highway friendly gear even though it was a decent sized V8. If you figure out your tire diameter on you vehicle and get your gearing in the 3.35-3.55 range, you can still get decent rpms on the highway, but improve the bottom end. If your vehicle is an in-town, weekend cruiser, then you may even want a 4.10 final drive. What your doing is moving your torque numbers down lower with the numerically higher gearing. You will build power quicker and go through the gears quicker. This, of course, will cause higher rpm on the highway and use more gas as your rpm will be higher.

There are online calculators where you can enter your transmission gearing ratios for each gear (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) along with the outside diameter of your tires along with your engine's desired rpm and it will show you what the rpm will be at certain speeds based on the final drive ratio you enter. You can find what is acceptable for your type of driving. Generally, you want somewhere in the low 2,000's for your rpm on the highway, but if it is a stop light to stop light weekend warrior, you may not care.

Here is a simple calculator from Spicer...

https://spicerparts.com/calculators/transmission-ratio-rpm-calculator