I was bashing my Hughes "ported" heads which I'm betting are the same as yours. You asked if the combo could be better-I'm telling you straight out that the heads are a MAJOR part of the problem. I commended you for getting the heads flow tested and returning to the dyno.
Tom is a nice guy and if you had brought me the heads to test I would have been just as diplomatic and said the same thing he did. If you told me about your experience honestly I would have told you the mid lift flow sucks because whoever ported the head made chips just for the sake of making chips and you are gonna need a cam that is 100% correct for this oddball situation.
Mike I really want to save you some time and money but retarding the cam and a $1500.00 carb aren't gonna get you there. J.Rob