Edelbrock Fireball!!!

Sounds like your distributor could be 180* off. Have you ever actually seen the engine run? I screwed around with an old truck I had years ago when I was just learning, and swore I had the distributor in right. Screwed with it for a good week, then a mechanic checked it out and sure enough, I had the distributor in 180* off....even though I swear I checked it several times.

As for the Holley vs. Edelbrock..Really guys...AGAIN?!? They are both good carbs and each have their role. I have had Edlebrocks/Carters on several cars (street cars). I've also had several Holleys. IMO, I prefer edelbrocks on daily driven street cars, but holley for high performance on moderate/highly modified engines. I've tried Holley on some of the cars I used Eddy on, and couldn't get them to run as good as I could with the Eddy, so went back with Eddy. Conversely, an Eddy doesn't perform as well as Holley in racing applications.
Once you know how to tweak a Holley, they are a little more forgiving, but honestly, I think the OP would be better off with an Edelbrock until he gets some more wrench time.