Hey Eddy, thanks for getting back to me. I just went out there with an old timing light that I was hoping to work, no luck. I was able to hook the alligator clips back up to do the timing and the idle dropped back down to 1000rpms. I then loosened the distributor nut to turn the distributor...when i started it was in the middle range of adjustment. when i turned it one way the idle got fast, the other way it got slower...I got it down to 750rpms and tighten the nut, went for a drive but had less power. The idle after taking the alligator clips off was about 1200rpms. I'll see what I can do about getting a working timing light and report back with more info. Also, in the factory service manual group 8 "ignition systems"...it seems there are pages missing on timing. damnit. I looked under my hood to see what the timing should be and it looks like the hood might have came from a 4 cylinder...lol...what should the timing be set to?

thanks again!