Edelbrock 600 carb issue?

Took the top off the carb today to check the accelerator pump and it seemed to be in working order, no tears or holes in the rubber and i was able to get a good pump shot through the squatters by pressing down on it by hand. Some more observations - while indications are that it's a lean issue, the motor actually seems to want much LESS fuel at idle. By opening the lower vacuum port it smoothed the idle way out and picked up a lot of rpm. I will still plan on accelerator pump replacement and see if that helps and report back.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far!!
-Tim