UPDATE:
no luck ): Today I purchased graphite, used it on the piston cup, made sure to align the piston and smoke unit and the spring, and I’m still getting the same results. Smoke, but not the rings. Just pouring out of the smoke stack. The spring I bought was stronger but also not as wide as the OE spring. Could that be the issue? Ace Hardware didn’t have one like that. Should I purchase a new Lionel replacement spring? Any help again would be great. I’m getting frustrated.