me thinks we may never get the resolution to this mystery, but we can learn something from this. Degreeing in the cam isn't a luxury, it's a necessity, and it goes a long way to help diagnose should problems arise later on. I like the idea someone had about taking a picture of the timing gears timing marks in the lined up position. It requires very little time, money, or effort and saves tearing back into it, if you start having doubts.
Another lesson learned should be don't introduce a bunch of unknowns on top of an unknown. Use a proven working carb on a new engine. If you want to add a new ignition system, do so after the engine is running, and the cam is broken in.
Document the engine. So you know, later, what was done to the engine, what parts were installed, and how they were installed.
