Timing is about 13 degrees initial and full 36 with the vac canister hooked up. [/QUOTE
You can check for a vacuum leak by spraying a little carb cleaner around where you suspect it to be and listen for the rpms to change. Check hoses and such for cracks. TQ phenolic bodies have also been known to warp.
Your timing sounds like it might be off. To check your timing properly you need to do it with the vacuum canister capped off since it has nothing to do with timing at idle. Vacuum advance is generally only for part throttle operation to help with fuel economy, it should not in any way figure into your advance curve. Figure out what your total timing is without the vacuum and make sure it's where it's supposed to be. 36 degrees might be a little too much for your combo which sounds like it might be sort of mild.
Do you have an adjustable vacuum canister? If not, you might want to get one to fine tune the amount of advance you are putting in.
Best way to figure out how much initial you need is with a vacuum gauge. You set it to 13 but you may not need so much. That may be your hard starting. Warm it up, put the vacuum gauge on (under throttle blades) and with a timing light, advance the initial until the highest vacuum reading is reached. Once you see where vacuum peaks, back off timing a few degrees to where the vacuum drops 1". Once you get that nailed down, get the motor running up to about 2,500 -3,000 and with your timing light see how fast and where the timing stops advancing. You can increase it a few hundred rpm at at a time and plot the curve. In any event, that number will be your total, wherever it is. Vacuum advance is added to that. Depending on what distributor you have, you may need to limit mechanical advance if you wind up at a number higher than 34-36.
It might also benefit you to drive around with a vacuum gauge. See what it says at part throttle and play with the advance canister to get it just right and not ping. Vacuum advance can add 10-20 degrees to the total. Start conservative.
