I recently rebuilt a holley 1945 from a 70's dart 225 /6 and it went on my 1968 /6 EGR valve and vac adv hooked up to the right ports all others are cap. The rockers are adjusted to .011 in and .021 exh at operating temp while running. The timing is set at 2 deg BTDC (the ballencer tdc marks line up right) but I havnt checked what it is at total timing or with the vac adv (where should they be at idle and does anyone have a writen proceedure on setting that up). The ing is HEI setup just like how Dan Stern shows it in his pics. Im currently running NGK GR4 plugs gapped at .035 with a brand new dizzy. Intake and exhaust gasket has been changed by the book and cant find any vac leaks. When I give the carb a pump to set the choke I get a good strong gas pump charge. when cranking it feels like the timing is off but once its running at operating temp its very crisp and smooth.

First year for EGR was '73. You're running an EGR system on your '68…? Do you have the whole system (vacuum amplifier, thermal switches, etc.)?
Better results at 5° BTDC
Too hot. You'll get pinging; maybe that's why your base timing is set to only 2°? Go to a GR5 or GR6 (higher number = colder plug in NGK's system)

And now, having said all that…what exactly are the symptoms you're dealing with? What do you mean by "it feels like the timing is off"?

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Sorry for the confusion. I'm not running an egr. I was very tired when I wrote that from working very long hours all month straight. I will try colder plugs and increase the timing. The timing sounds off by how it cranks and once it backfired and thats with out even pumping the gas from sitting for a week.