Timing problem

got his car running.
Changed it over to a Holley 600 on the 318
1976 engine
1968 distributor

Adjusted the carb by vacuum. I got 11 vacuum out of it.
Checked for leaks and couldn't find any.

Thought to redo the timing.
The car ran and idled fine before I messed with the timing.
It had a dead spot when you hit the gas hard

So I figured I'd adjust the timing by vacuum.
Loosened the distributor.

The car would start and run when I hit the gas. It would not idle at all. No matter where I moved the distributor.

The guy who timed the car before said it was hard to tune. I have double 2 barrels on it.


It does have older gas. Mixed with some fresh gas.
It ran ok with this older gas so I figured I'd just run it out and out in new.


I cannot get this car to stay running.

I also can't really see the timing marks as they are buried by the water pump




Any thoughts would help