Paul,
Good job - good/clear description.
I set my valves at .006/intake and .016/exhaust (for normal driving).
I do not know if 10 BTDC is too far advanced. I simply use the vacuum setting technique and go with the setting.
The "pinging" technique is as good, or maybe better, technique.
Using the vacuum gauge for carburetor and timing settings makes tune-ups a piece-of-cake.
The only other setting to check is the points gap.
Congratulations,
