So very stuck...

Okay, so after some research and a bit of reducating myself on timing, I believe i have found my truck happy spot. Currently it seems to run best at 22* initial and 36* all in. Did some research on my distributor to find out I can adjust it without a recurve kit. Lossen a couple of screws and I can adjust how much all in I'm getting. Right now its 14* mechanical. Completely disconnected the vacuum advance as it's not really needed. At 22* initial im idling at 750 rpm and am pulling a steady 15hg of vacuum. Any higher on the initial and my vacuum starts getting erratic. Did a couple of pulls on our local hill and he gets right up and stays on it all the way up with no ping, or detonation detected. Now that my timing is set, I'm going to start fine tuning the carb. I may even turn up my line pressure 1 more turn to see if I get better response from the transmission... not that its bad... just feel like it can handle a bit more.