273 Engine _ Need ID of Intake

Now that I have that all laid to rest (I hope), I am now wondering at what position the distributor should be before I attempt to start the engine. The info I got with the purple cam from the fellow who put it in is as follows; 490-lift.. 276 duration ... 112 degree center line .... 52 degree overlap .... 0.020 Hot. Not sure what all this means but could this have a bearing on turning motor manually to Top Dead Center?

The distributor has been out a couple of times (got in the way during cleanup of gasket surfaces for the intake - twice). Is there a way to place the Dist. in a fairly close orientation before I try starting the engine? I hear that I don't want to mess to much with setting the distributor. What would the timing be?

Once again I appreciate any info/guidance provided. This forum has been a life saver for me for sure.