HEI and fuel: I had to re-route mine. Don't force it too much or you'll end up buying a fuel pump along with the braided line. Don't ask me how I know...
You can see mine here:
For the wire: I took apart my firewall plug and re-used the connector that the resistance wire used. Nice and clean. If you google it there's a couple of websites that show how to do it.
As to finding TDC: Take out all the plugs and the fan pulley is easy to turn. Hold your finger over the hole and you should be able to find it. Once you think you have it TDC look at the timing indicator on the crank pulley and if it's at or near 0 you have it. If you don't see the mark you're not at TDC.
It's easy to get 180 out. You'll know it really quick when the car doesn't start and backfires on you.
edit: well all this is out the window until you fix the damper issue.
