For my idle speed - I don't have a tool to check that yet either. I think one of my neighbors has a tool that you can use to check the timing and the idle speed. I'll have to check into borrowing that. Like I said before, I'm trying to get the idle close by how hard my tranny engages when I put it into drive or reverse, but I know that's not exactly the right way to do it. I think the warm idle speed should be around 700 rpm, right? And what should the timing be set at?
And whatever I'm doing to my car, it's very easy to do it better than it was when I bought it. I took the old intake/exhaust manifolds off, and the intake manifold runners are visually further away from the engine than the exhaust runners, which would explain why my car ran like poop - so I was very careful to get the manifolds both sealed properly, although that doesn't necessarily mean I didn't make a mistake. It is an iron one, and there are no cracks or anything. I made an egr block-off plate, so I'll double check that to make sure it's sealing properly.
Also, as I am trying to get the carb dialed in, I maybe set the carb up a tad on the lean side. In trying to get it started, I think I put the metering rods a tad lower in the jets, and maybe I didn't turn the fuel mixture screws out as far as they need to be. But I absolutely agree with you, I definitely don't want to just keep pouring gas into the car hoping that will fix it.
man, sometimes I really get long-winded
