Originally Posted by
79pmooney
Sheldon Brown has a description of a technique to better center the chainring if there is any play with the bolts.
The OP could give this technique a try. I had no luck with it on a bike with the same problem.
Originally Posted by
79pmooney
In my experience, the best solution by far is to spend the money for a quality track crankset.
This. ^^^
It only takes a tiny bit of eccentricity in the crank to make a big difference in chain tension as the drivetrain rotates. If you have a cheapo crank and chainring, it can be very frustrating, and sometimes the only solution is to spend the cash for good stuff. The cranks that work really nice seem to start at around the $150 price point, give or take. At any lower than that, you might get a good one, but it's kind of a crap shoot.