440 timing pinging and popping thru exaust

Just a guess, a stock distributor is going to have way too much mechanical advance in it if it's a reman from a store. You might get lucky, but I doubt it.

I wouldn't worry about vacuum advance at this point, it's the last piece of the puzzle.

Initial
Total 34-38 is usually a decent range for a BB in most cases
Curve - Springs
Vacuum

That's the way I do it.
sorry the word "vacuum" was a mistake