Timing help!!

Coming in late here...

But I disagree with the coat hanger method mentioned above regarding finding TDC - it is far too inaccurate because the piston "sits" at TDC for much more than 1 degree as we can accurately measure with our fingers and any sort of wire, at least not with my fingers; so I now use a piston stop

I know this because someone removed their adjustable timing indicator and someone else accidentally moved the adjustable pin while it was off the engine; don't ask who did that please, but apparently it was to clean it better during a cam degreeing operation on my SBC

Piston stops are easy to use, cheap to buy, and comes with instructions too. You rotate your engine, piston stop installed in #1 cyl spark plug hole, bringing the piston up to the stop in both directions and mark the balancer both times at zero on your timing tab, find the middle between the two marks and that is true TDC; if you do your part right. Now get the right timing tab (or an adjustable one) and you're good to go

Handy Hint: pull ALL your spark plugs when using a stop, makes rotating your engine much easier and safer (so your piston won't go flying into the stop while you fight compression to rotate the engine by hand)

I don't mean to come off harshly, but if you are going to go to the effort to do something, take 15 minutes more and do it right

All other advice given sounds good and prudent