2bbl 2977 problems

Yeah - I had it on #8 wire, negative post at the coil, positive and negative battery terminals. The screen will display dwell and battery voltage but it fails to read RPM or light for timing. The instructions say that often the light will stop working and to un-attach then re-attach positive post which I did but no change.
 
Figured Id post an update in case others find themselves in the same scenario with a carburetor that's flooding fuel. After talking to a few carburetor build shops and technicians I learned that the Holley rebuild kits that are made these days are made with a power jet casting different from what was used in the original manufacturing of the carburetors. This prevents the gasket seal that is necessary at the metering block. What rebuild shops are actually doing is filing down the metering body by almost 1/16" near this power jet location in order to create the seal at the gasket. If you're like me and have an original carburetor that's been sitting since the 70's or 80's you may either want to track down a kit from that era or have a shop rebuild yours for that first time if they're privy to this issue. Im trying to get a photo of where exactly and how much is being taken before attempting to do it myself. In the mean time, I've ordered a rebuild kit from the era and will hopefully have some luck with leaning out after I put the carb back together. The new timing light works and I hope to be back in business soon. If anyone has a detail on this filing down it'd be helpful to have a photo. Thanks
 
Alright - so the picture notes the differences as far as I can tell of a carb kit manufactured today versus 1970. So not sure which of the new alterations was causing a fuel leak but I’m pretty sure it’s gone. It was still smoking at first but I think I got it to lean best idle around 570 rpm and 17-18 on the vacuum gauge. I’ll keep running it now and check on the original issue which is burning eye smoke.
 

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Timing Question. So after getting 18-19 on the vacuum gauge at lean best idle I’m reading 5 degrees, Not TDC. For the v8 304 I’m reading this should spot on TDC. I’ve tried rotating the cap slightly but there really is no change. Am I splitting hairs? It seems to run nicely but having to work it a bit on a cold start (plenty of fuel) and I feel like I’m hearing a deep thud from the bottom of the engine…
 
These engines usually run best around 10 deg advance. This is dependent on a lot of factors. The procedure is to advance timing until it starts to ping under load and ten back off a couple of deg.
 
There is a a 5 degree mark on either side of 0 on the timing scale. One is after top dead center and the other is below (BTDC). You don't want to be on the ATDC side of the scale. It has the fewest numbers showing. 0 degrees is a factory starting point. Most of these engines respond well to varied degrees of static advance. It's best to work up in small increments and test drive at heavy throttle to really work the engine and listen for ping. Ping means too much advance.
 
Is turning the distributor cap the only way to fine tune timing? I ask because the cap really seems to “fit” where its at. Going a 1/2” counter clockwise or clockwise showed no change with timing light.
 
It's not the cap that rotates. It's the entire distributor. There is a lock down bolt where the distributor shaft enters the engine block. That must be loosened first to make timing adjustments, and then snugged back down to hold the setting.
 
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