base timing keeps advancing by itself...

Thanks for the tips. After confirming TDC, I went back in to take a look at the carb. Did a full throttle pull, killed engine and pulled plug, it showed almost completely clean. Ordered needles (Edelbrock avs) to go richer. Will see how that effects things.
You are gpoing to need more than "needles" if it is that lean.
Suggest you buy the Edelbrock carb tuning kit for your carb.
You're going to need it