I'm not sure if its just my car or all fits but it seems like it takes an eternity (5+ seconds) to shift between gears and you loose all forward momentum waiting for the transmission to left you shift again. I know we have a clutch delay valve but is it really that long of a pause?

 

That doesn't sound normal at all. The clutch delay valve only has an effect (well, any significant effect) when engaging the clutch, not when disengaging it by pushing the pedal in.

Are you pressing the clutch pedal all the way down? It sounds to me as though perhaps the clutch isn't fully disengaging. If that's the case, and you are pressing the pedal fully, I would guess that you might have some air in the hydraulic line or a leak in the system somewhere. That's probably not the only possible diagnosis—just my best guess.