diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr_test.yml b/.github/workflows/pr_test.yml
index 69e414b558..e37a153479 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr_test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr_test.yml
@@ -51,6 +51,11 @@ jobs:
         echo STEP_ID=Setup-Acceptance-Test-Matrix >> $GITHUB_ENV
         echo STEP_START=$(date +%s) >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
+    - name: Run validation steps
+      run: |
+        bundle exec rake validate
+      if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'puppetlabs' }}
+
     - name: Setup Acceptance Test Matrix
       id: get-matrix
       run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/spec.yml b/.github/workflows/spec.yml
index 16f9316035..7da4f3ddf0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/spec.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/spec.yml
@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@ jobs:
           echo STEP_ID=Setup-Acceptance-Test-Matrix >> $GITHUB_ENV
           echo STEP_START=$(date +%s) >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
+      - name: Run Static & Syntax Tests
+        if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'puppetlabs' }}
+        run: |
+          buildevents cmd $TRACE_ID $STEP_ID 'static_syntax_checks' -- bundle exec rake syntax lint metadata_lint check:symlinks check:git_ignore check:dot_underscore check:test_file rubocop
+
       - name: Setup Spec Test Matrix
         id: get-matrix
         run: |
@@ -120,10 +125,6 @@ jobs:
           buildevents cmd $TRACE_ID $STEP_ID 'bundle env' -- bundle env
           echo ::endgroup::
 
-      - name: Run Static & Syntax Tests
-        run: |
-          buildevents cmd $TRACE_ID $STEP_ID 'static_syntax_checks Puppet ${{ matrix.puppet_version }}, Ruby ${{ matrix.ruby_version }}' -- bundle exec rake syntax lint metadata_lint check:symlinks check:git_ignore check:dot_underscore check:test_file rubocop
-      
       - name: Run parallel_spec tests
         run: |
           buildevents cmd $TRACE_ID $STEP_ID 'rake parallel_spec Puppet ${{ matrix.puppet_version }}, Ruby ${{ matrix.ruby_version }}' -- bundle exec rake parallel_spec
diff --git a/.sync.yml b/.sync.yml
index c6022a1f49..3abeb3663e 100644
--- a/.sync.yml
+++ b/.sync.yml
@@ -28,3 +28,4 @@ spec/spec_helper.rb:
   unmanaged: false
 .travis.yml:
   delete: true
+changelog_since_tag: 'v8.0.0'
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 2906c15bab..9486ad0cb5 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ if Bundler.rubygems.find_name('github_changelog_generator').any?
     raise "Set CHANGELOG_GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable eg 'export CHANGELOG_GITHUB_TOKEN=valid_token_here'" if Rake.application.top_level_tasks.include? "changelog" and ENV['CHANGELOG_GITHUB_TOKEN'].nil?
     config.user = "#{changelog_user}"
     config.project = "#{changelog_project}"
+    config.since_tag = "v8.0.0"
     config.future_release = "#{changelog_future_release}"
     config.exclude_labels = ['maintenance']
     config.header = "# Change log\n\nAll notable changes to this project will be documented in this file. The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org)."
diff --git a/metadata.json b/metadata.json
index 6b19765fc3..833a3f079e 100644
--- a/metadata.json
+++ b/metadata.json
@@ -39,6 +39,6 @@
     }
   ],
   "template-url": "https://github.com/puppetlabs/pdk-templates.git#main",
-  "template-ref": "heads/main-0-g03daa92",
+  "template-ref": "heads/main-0-g2381db6",
   "pdk-version": "2.1.0"
 }