Here's what actually made the difference ( and I need to relook at a carb diagram to figure out why): On my Single Barrel Rochester carb, there are three levers. I didn't have the linkage hooked up while I was trying to start it. The top lever most lever is the choke, the center level i thought just connected the two, and the bottom most is the throttle / gas. The carb wasn't spitting gas and we couldn't figure out why.
Again, I don't know why yet, it might even be something else, but the CENTER lever made all the difference. I don't know if it internally blocks the gas in the original position, or if I'm just making a wrong assumption, but after I moved that middle lever, put the choke to nearly closed, and pinged the throttle continually, it fires up instantly every time now.
This tech tip was what I followed to the letter to get my valves right:
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/valveadjustment.htmAs far as timing, I put my finger over the #1 spark hole and cranked the engine until I felt pressure pushing out. Then, I cranked it by hand just a few degrees to get the ball on the flywheel to match the timing mark on the bellhousing. I've heard that you should put the needle to the right of the timing mark. Even with all of that, I had to turn the distributor pretty far forward in it's hole to get the timing right. For reference: If the front of the engine is 0 Degrees, the back is 180 degrees, then my vacuum advance is pointed at about 30-45 degrees going clockwise from 0. Not sure if that'll help AT ALL, that's just where mine is.
Another thing to note is I bought a 900 cranking amp battery. It dies pretty quickly from turning the engine over, so I've had to charge it 3-4 times just with about 10 attempts of trying to start this thing. So make sure your guys charged.
Sorry you're having such a rough time. Just two days of attempts was upsetting enough after working on this truck for two years. Good luck!
