At my wit's end
I opened up the fuel bowl again yesterday to readjust the the float and got it to run decently. I tried setting the timing by a timing light but the AC stuff is in the way of getting a good look at the timing markers. I need to setup some markers/pointers on the alternator side so that I can get it right, but it is running properly now so I am not super worried. I replaced all the vacuum lines between the dizzy, carb, and CAB which helped a lot too. I freed the seized heater valve thingy using some PB Blaster and elbow grease. Once all that was buttoned up I took it for a decent drive around the area and didn't have a single issue. I took a couple of the corners a little harder than I normally would to see if it would stall or bog, but it didn't. Car now starts up with very little effort either hot or cold.
I went with the HEI because I already had a lot of the components lying around the garage minus an electronic dizzy. I ordered a refurbished one, which looked more like a return than a refurb, but it works. Yes heat compound and dielectric grease are two very different things. I build a lot of PC's so I know what it is any why it is used. My electrical components were pretty sparse when I was installing the HEI stuff so it was done in a more proof of concept manner versus a finished install design. I've purchased some things and ordered some others that I will need to "do it right" in a few days.
I do have an FSM for the 66 and one for the 1920 carb. It really was a pounding my head against a wall moment when I saw that I screwed that simple thing up. Its been a couple of years since I've rebuilt one though. There wasn't any of the anti-corrosion stuff on the carb before I put it in the PineSol. This was one of the reasons I coated it with WD40, though I've heard that lithium would have been better.