Another edelbrock carb question!

Honestly - I'd expect no drop in rpm when put in gear with a higher stall at 900rpm. I would suggest re-tuning. I think it's lean. Too lean causes the same issues as too rich, except it tends to lose rpm when it's put into gear. It will always have a fuel smell at idle because of the large cam. So getting a perfectly clean idle isn't possible. Holleys like 1 1/2 turns out - I've had Carter/Edelbrocks that like more -2, 2 1/2 to clean up. So my advice is add another 2-4° of initial, reset idle speed to 750-800, reset the idle mix to highest vacuum level in park, then go out another 1/4 turn. A lot of tuning is by feel but that's where I'd be playing around at.