Am I limited in holding communications with certain firms?

Yes, if you establish a competitive range, you must do the following: (a) Hold communications with offerors whose past performance information is the determining factor preventing them from being placed within the competitive range; (b) Address adverse past performance information to which an offeror has not had a prior opportunity to respond; and (c) Hold communications only with those offerors whose exclusion from, or inclusion in, the competitive range is uncertain.