Using automatic, continuous online monitoring of polymerization reactions (ACOMP) the final, divergent growth phase (FDGP) of the condensation polymerization of dimethylamine, epichlorohydrin, and ethylenediamine was monitored, which produced a highly ramified, polyelectrolytic polyamine. The weight average mass, M-w, increased exponentially during the FDGP, whereas weight averaged intrinsic viscosity [eta](w) increased slowly, reaching a plateau. Multi-detector gel permeation chromatography (GPC) revealed that polymers of mass 20.000 to 10(6) are branched and self-similar, but above this mass, [eta] increases less strongly with M. This appears to be due to higher order ramification, a precursor to gelation. The ACOMP trends in M-w and [eta](w) provide direct online evidence of this process. It is shown computationally that a mere increase in polydispersity cannot explain this behavior. GPC showed the mass distribution becomes highly asymmetric as conversion increases. A plausible kinetic model for the distribution asymmetry is introduced, and a complementary model for the effects of higher order ramification on [eta](w).