First time mods on my 318 and it won't start...

I know you said carbs seem complicated right now but I think that carb really should be pulled apart, cleaned, and adjusted to baseline idle settings. If you don't have a large vacuum leak somewhere and the ignition timing is close enough then dirt and debris in the idle circuits will definitely cause problems. The idle mixture and speed may be way off as well. Spray the whole thing down with carb cleaner first if it's dirty so it's easier to work with and just take your time disconnecting the linkages. There are only 2 or 3 you need to disconnect to get the top of the carb body off. Edelbrocks (and most popular 4-barrels for that matter) are pretty simple once you learn how they work. Not like the stuff that came on older European and Japanese cars lol.