Revert "Revert "Partial Update to 1.8.1""

This reverts commit e9a44b8f749b9a8730a7f734359a0147542b01e0.
Revert "Revert "Revert "Partial Update to 1.8.1"""

This reverts commit de6bb33f943adacde819c5d2874b61b2db887694.
Add .gitignore