Tuning help with new carb on strong 408

I hear you on spending. But you have come too far to let a couple of hundred more stop you from getting a nice tune.
I suggest getting her running, warm it up nice, then put the timing lite on it and start giving her some more idle timing(after plugging the PV circuit).Then take it from there. Once she responds favorably, you can assess the benefit to dollars ratio, and make a decision on the new dizzy purchase.
All the best to you