hoping someone here might be able to help me (1988 firebird)

A battery rated at 990 cold cranking amps (or whatever rating) delivers only what the starter and the rest of the electrical system demands of it if it can, and most of the time this demand is far less than the battery's maximum rating. My guess is that you just need to put a new battery of the original rating in your machine, clean and tighten the cables, and then check your alternator to make sure that it's doing its job. The alternator may be the underlying culprit for your present situation.

You lost me with "it ran fine till the battery hit the car frame." What does that mean?

sorry i ment "it ran fine till the screw on he batteyr cable hit the car frame" although before for that happend at night it seamed like there was some kind of power fluxation, the head lights would kind of dim in and out.

Check the spark timing. If advanced too far will cause slow cranking. Dirty ground and power connections can cause the same thing. Check at the battery and where the cables connect to the engine.

I think you really need to look at yuor alternator. It sounds like it is not keeping the battery charged. If you have an ampmeter on the dash, it should be charging at about 13.5 amps. If it is charging at lessthan 12, the battery is slowing being drained as you drive.

tom