Stopping the knock: Lower compression and ported heads...

The cranking compression was an average of 191.
The cam card showed an intake closing of 56.5 degrees @ .050.
I would LOVE to have made things work with the engine as was, but I was up against a wall with it.
I tried everything that I could think of. I tried most things that other people thought of.
I tried different carb jetting, different carbs, different distributor curves, different distributors, different fuel, higher octane fuel, tried tuning with a wideband EUGO sensor....I even rigged up a long fuel line to test fuel pressure at WOT. So far, nothing that I have tried seemed to make a differnce except the 110 fuel.
The guys in the local Mopar club were zero help. Most of them are old timers with cars that never see over 3000 rpms.
I am not one to post just to solicit an "atta-boy" from the masses. I have posted many times asking for help. Many of you have stepped up to offer advice that should have worked. I am dealing with something here that seems to defy any mechanical sense. I have read from many that an engine like mine should have ran fine on 91 octane, yet I have been unable to do it with THIS cam. The MP 509 I had in before actually delivered lower cranking compression by an average of 3.5 psi and it knocked less. I don't mean to piss on anyones advice. Rusty Rat Rod tried to help but is obviously disappointed in the whole thing. I'm sure others feel the same as he does.
I know that it is often the case where a person thinks he has made all the right moves but has missed a step along the way. I really wish that I knew where I went wrong here. I have calculated the engines specs numerous times. I have degreed the cam and checked the timing marks on the balancer to verify TDC. As I mentioned in other posts, in 2005 I had the car at a dyno shop and it was there that I learned that the timing had to be limited to around 30 degrees total to avoid detonation. This was with almost no carbon on the pistons to raise compression. The dyno guy felt a modern cam would help and suggested the Comp XE285HL cam. When I asked about thicker head gaskets he felt the same as many members here: Yeah, it will drop compression but you'd also lose the effects of the quench. I went ahead with the Comp cam and a thicker .060 Cometic gasket. The engine was then able to tolerate up to 35 degrees of timing and made more power than before. That cam went flat, as did the next Comp cam. It was because of those failures that I went back to the 509 cam.
I've read and heard about quench and its benefits, I'm just nervous about making more changes that do not help.
I find it amazing that people suggest to run a thinner head gasket. The thinking (As I understand it) is that the increase of quench will MORE than offset the possible drawbacks of the increase in compression.
I suppose that I could try the thinner head gaskets. Not saying that I WILL, just letting you know that I am not as bull headed as I may appear. The car isn't my daily driver and it isn't an inconvenience to let it sit if I run into the same detonation problem again.