Stopping the knock: Lower compression and ported heads...

Before I pulled the heads, I mapped 2 MP electronic distributors. I put in the heaviest springs included in the tuning kit I bought. Both distributors were set to 14 degrees of total advance. One started advancing a few hundred RPMs off of idle and reached full advance by 2200-2300 RPMs. The other started advancing about 400 RPMs off of idle and reached full advance at about 2400 RPMs. The goal there was to try to delay or slow the curve to be "all-in" just shy of the converter stall speed. That didn't work out as planned. I may have had luck if I used heavier weights spec'd for a different distributor. Rusty Rat Rod repeatedly posted that I needed to delay the timing curve but I felt that he was barking up the wrong tree. My experience was that even when I was rolling along at 3000, 3500 or 4000 RPMs, the engine knocked when I floored it. What would it help to delay the advance to 3000 rpms if it knocked at any point AFTER that? It seemed like a pointless effort to keep jacking with the timing curve.
I figured that there would be some tuning after the fact. I don't mind. I have a bunch of jets and power valves here.
This weekend I hope to check cranking compression. I'll report the findings when I do.
Another topic:
Even before all this, with the 509 cam in place, I've been annoyed with the part throttle performance. The high stall converter makes the car feel lazy at part throttle. It responds when I lean into it and the converter winds up, but I'd prefer a tighter feel. The problem is, the bigger cam needs a higher stall converter. The car reacts faster when in direct drive (3.91 gears) compared to when the GV is engaged ( OD final drive of 3.05)
I don't know if I need a better converter or if a smaller cam and tighter converter. For now I'll tune what I have and see if it is good enough to live with.