also could timing not advanced far enough be an issue? I had the local carburator guy tune my first carb and timed my car. He said he set the timing at Stock specs for a 74 360....I believe 8 degrees adv
You need a lot more intial timing (maybe as much as 15-20 degrees) if you have anything but a stock cam.
What does the timing do over the rpm range? At what rpm does it stop advancing? You should see approximately 34-36 degrees total in the 2500 +/- 200 rpm range. If its a stock distributor it may not stop advancing until 4000 rpm or so.
I agree with the others on the carb. Once you get the igntion sorted out and it runs well through the rpm range you should try the smaller carb again, especially if the car is primary street driven. The throttle response in the 1000-3000 rpm range where you will spend most of your time will be much improved.