Hi Lowell,
You are right about fixing the query. We are already in works with the third party vendor over this. He has to come up with the fix for it.
But in the mean time, I had to find a way so the issue would not kill the server CPU.
8 for max DOP is the sweet spot. it is also the recommended by Microsoft.
As for the details: I am talking about achange in average from the low 30s to high 50s.

Salim