Where's the Wow?

I sure would. I think you will have the best results.

Forget about the TDC mark on the engine. FIND true TDC by degreeing the cam first. You can make the timing point align with the mark easily. That's no big deal. Just make sure you FIND true TDC first. The rest is downhill. You can go on the Comp Cams site for unbiased instructions on how to properly degree that cam.
I'm not recommending that to degree the cam Dude, the OP questions whether his damper's off & subsequently all of His ign. timing, now is the time to check it!!