Have you called whoever wrote your tuning? Your maf readings don't sound strange at all...
That single isn't going to play as nice as compounds or a single w/ vgt when it comes to getting spooled up. MAF as you probably know is just airflow that the motor is pulling through the intake. As I have said before, a lot of trucks will max out at 600g/m MAF... Even at half throttle.
Whats more important to find out is map and ebp. Is the turbo building boost properly when you are into the throttle? If it is, you are getting air... If you concern is higher egts initially off the line and smoke, well... You threw a single in there. Thats the trade off you have to deal with when dropping the vgt compounds. You take at hit off the line, but once rolling she lights and can give more than a vgt setup (in most cases).
A lot of tuning will attempt to compensate for this by increasing low boost fuel. This leads to higher egts and more smoke but gets the turbo spinning.
@toren302 @kaya You guys are more on the ball when it comes to turbos... What are your thoughts?