Problem(s) solved! Running sweeet.
Thanks again for the help / info.
Took a while to get finished up, with working, summer heat, and general laziness.
So I went through all the basic tuneup stuff, new plugs, cap, rotor, points, condenser, vac. advance (in fact replaced entire distributor since it comes with the last 3 listed components, and it looked a bit worn out). Rebuilt the carb., replaced some wiring, checked compression (all cylinders 110-120 psi, mostly towards the high end) and lastly timing.
It happened to run out of gas in my driveway before I was done, which was actually probably a good thing, since it means all the old gas is now gone.
Oh, and no HEI to answer that question. Good bit of info to file away for future reference if I ever decide to go that route. For now I just need a good truck that can get me around and help me get some work done. May get more into performance in the future.
