In anticipation for the preliminary dyno session, I pulled a valve cover to check things out. Smell of gas smacked me right in the face, so I imagine that this thing is gonna be lacking on ring seal.
I also pulled the factory distributor to drop in an MSD and decided to check TDC against the pointer/balancer.
It was 6° off.
I fixed that with some strategically placed white paint dabs. I'll fix it more permanently when the build starts.
New intake manifold will be here on Tuesday. I appreciate everyone's help with the data, Joe, Werb, Scott, et al.