vacuum advance idle issue?

Sorry... i do this all on my phone...to the point....with the timing completely off i can get it to idle OK, but it rattles and soundsit like the timing is too retarded and isthe barely drivable. When you set the timing correctely and set the idle rpm drops to where it should be but begins to sing a similar retarded sounding 3 cylender song untill you get the rpm farly high, where all horible sounds cease completely untill droped back to idle. With the baccume hose from the distributer to the carb UN-hooked it idles ok untill you rev it and it rattles and misses. Is it my carb? My distributer? Or vaccume plumbing issues? How can i eliminate as many culprits as possible. What it isint might be more revealing than guessing what it might be...someone ditched the stock points as well, dunno if they used the right distributor when they did...