Any thoughts on this engine issue

If the diss is correct you should not be seeing any advance at idle. And I know you do not have any vacuum hooked up correct? So if the diss is not providing any advance at idle and there is not vacuum advance to deal with, then if the timing is moving around more than a degree or two at idle then something is not right. And keep in mind that you are only seeing what is happening at # 1 TDC.

XS2 exactly why i think the chain is coming into play or the balancer has slipped giving a false timing reading