Living with a 2.21....

OP, your actual SCR is in the low 8's, not the high 8's. The 130 cranking pressure says that. You're just in the RPM's, at low speeds, of the engine dropping off of the low end of the torque curve, with that lower compression and the cam. The chronic stock 318 issue.....

As above, more compression is the best answer for the 'low RPM torque blues'. You can do a bit with advancing the cam (the earlier ICA mentioned above) but it is going to be more limited of a help at the low RPM's. But more compression means new pistons and going into the engine again.

The higher TC stall is one answer, to let the engine rev up from a stop to a better spot on the torque curve. But if you are driving over the road 95% of the time, there goes your locking TC and the better fuel mileage. I wonder if there is a locking TC with a higher stall that you can get.....??
These guys can. Precision of New Hampton | Torque Converters, Transmission