There are several different ways to learn, the hard way stumbling through all the things you do, another is to look, listen and apply what others(with knowledge of that subject) are willing to share with you to help you from repeating the rooky mistakes we have all made
The first solid roller cam I installed was a old(in 1971) Sig Erson special marine grind for S/K boat racing that they didn't stock in there inventory in their warehouse, I had to wait 6 weeks for it and it ended up having the cam dowel alignment pin mislocated by 8 degrees retarded That motor(392 hemi) was a real turd with that cam retarded
I learned a lot about not trusting the after market cam makers cams with out degreeing them at that time
Murphy lurks ,ready to pounce on us hot rodders and racers
Buy the tools needed and degree every cam you install so you don't wonder about where the cams intake center line is
I've moved intake lobe centers on engines in the car and on the engine dynos, I've seen over 40 HP and similar torque loss by moving the cam from 2 degrees retarded to 4, 5 or 6 degrees advanced on the intake lobe center
If your truck is spinning the tires on the starting line retarding the cam will help stop that