Thanks for the replies guys. I changed my plug wires out (was using an old set from when the motor was in the ramcharger, possibly had 10,000 dirty miles on them). I also advanced the distributor until it backfired through the carb (supposed to be at 38 degrees, but my father in law didn't let me rev the engine up above 2500, so I think it was a little more). I then backed it off a little bit and it runs a lot better.

I noticed when I was changing the wires that probably 5 of the 8 cylinders were pretty wet with fuel (checking the plugs at the same time). Only 3 cylinders had a nice clean burn to the spark plug. I haven't checked them again yet, but I do know that the occasional miss is not occuring.

Also, I forgot that I have a 2,000 rpm stall converter in the transmission. It is a B&M unit. The only time it seems to affect the driveability of the car is after cold start up to get the car to move, you have to rev the motor a little. After that, all driving seems normal. Will this hurt fuel economy?

One problem I have on fuel economy is when I am checking out the running of the car, I have a hard time keeping my foot out of it . It runs great from 3,000 RPMs up. I will see what this cam runs on fuel economy, but I have a feeling I will need to swap them out. Surely this can be done in a weekend right? Also, can you get the timing chain cover off with the motor still in the car?