Edelbrock Performer RPM

Pat, I think you answered your own question. If it sounds like the timing is off, you might have the distributor off a tooth. You may have to do the TDC thing and make sure it is aligned properly.

Starting with the point that free advice is worth what you pay for it, I'd say not to worry about the distributor being off a tooth. If the engine is running and you have enough distributor rotation to advance and retard the timing to the point of a stumble then you're distributor's in the right spot (although you may want to change it one tooth worth to get the vacuum can and wires lined up the way you want).

I also wouldn't worry about the carb. As far as I know there is nothing to mess up in your idle circuits that laying a Holley on its side would bring on. (But I still would have found a place to set the carb down without turning it on its side.)

I'm assuming you unplugged the plug wires from the spark plugs, so the first thing I would look at is firing order. Did you put the wires back with the right plugs?

The second thing I would look at is a vacuum leak. Are all the holes in the new intake plugged? All the tubes coming out of the base of the carb? PCV valve connected? Power brake booster connected? Last but not least, the intake gasket may not be sealing. You can check with carb cleaner, spraying it around the intake to head mating surface to see if the revs go up. But this doesn't check for leaks in the lifter valley. There's really no way to check for that, other than take the intake off and put in new gaskets and hope for a better result this time.

Hope this helps.