318 stalls in Drive

65Val said
How quick does the mechanical advance in the distributor come in? If it's already advancing @ 850 rpm, then when it goes into gear, as the rpm drops back to 550, timing drops back as well because the convertor is too low stall speed, and added together with a way-to-big cam for the convertor, causes the engine to stall. Simple huh?

Excellent point. Somewhere I have a chart that shows the advance curve for that distributor. Somewhere. I wonder if I could just tie the flyweights down so they don't move and check the timing? Or just have someone put the truck in Drive while watching a timing light?