Yes, Jerry...but isn't there also the dynamic of the oil pump drag and other factors? Some of these can be surprising. 40 years ago I had a 235 I had just rebuilt which would not idle correctly no matter what I tried. Finally I pulled the camshaft thinking one of the lobes must have gone slightly wonky. Wasn't that, however. The thrust plate (normally is supposed to have .001 to .005" gap between it and the gear) was worn to the point where it had a gap of about .022". The cam was bouncing in and out enough at low rpms to make the timing swing in/out of range. I figured the design of the 2 gears would prevent that, but it didn't.
