there were supposedly nt texts biased towards works, but those were removed with the gnostic texts.
Hmm, I can't say I believe this. Do you have any references for such a thing?
I've looked at almost all the Pseudipigrapha (sp?), and I don't think any of them were left out of the canon for an emphasis on works. Admittedly, I haven't read much from the Dead Sea Scrolls, but I understand those are likely Essene, not gnostic.
The disagreements the churches had with the gnostics were not over works. In fact, some sects of gnosticism were much like modern Christianity, saying that works don't matter at all, although the reason those gnostics gave is that all material creation didn't matter (sheesh, I didn't mean to make a dumb pun there, I was purposely avoiding saying "all material creatian was immaterial").
the nt texts we have are biased heavily towards faith.
Right, I agree with this. But the point is that the strenuous obedience to God required by the Old Covenant was beyond men, so faith is offered by the New Covenant as an entrance into a new life in the Spirit in which strenuous obedience to God can indeed be lived out.
As the anonymous author of the Letter to Diognetus put it, "After giving us time to see that we were not able in our own power, he sent his Son to make us able."