Rebuilt top end of engine now carb idles much higher?Please help

Well I have another question for everyone. I though I took care of the vacuum leak but I may still have one? First I took some starter fluid and while engine wasn’t real hot but warm sprayed it in between where the intake meets the heads. On the drivers side the starter fluid sat there and slowly evaporated. On the passengers side it was sucked in rather quickly and the engine idling changed. Therefore I though ah ha there is the vacuum leak. So I proceeded to rip the intake and carb off the engine for the third time and clean up all surfaces spotless and scraped off all the old permatex. After everything was clean I sprayed both sides of the valley pan. Where it meets the heads and where the intake meets the valley pan. I sprayed the areas liberally with copper gasket spray and laid down some little dabs of permatex oil and gas resistant sealer at the front back and along the front and rear rails where the valley pan sits. I put everything back together and let it sit for 24hrs. Then I rechecked the torquing of the bolts and started her up tonight. Well I think I still have a small vacuum leak. It doesn’t idle as rough but with the carburetor idle screw all the way down it still won’t idle below 1400rpm. It used to idle at 900-1000rpm. I tried spraying starter fluid again as before and it doesn’t seem to suck in but might be very slowly being drawn in on the passenger side not sure. When I cup my hands and cover the carb the engine idle slows down but I thought if covered tight enough it would stall out because lack of air flow into the engine. This didn’t happen. I thought if there is no vacuum leak sealing off the air into the carb would allow you to stall out the engine unless it was still getting some air in somewhere else? So is it possible that it could still be drawing air into the front and rear of the valley pan where it meets the top of the block and also the intake is still slightly leaking? I was going to buy a new valley pan and install and should I try to use a set of thin intake gaskets between the intake and valley pan on top but not between the valley pan and head? I don’t think 2 gaskets will allow the bolts holes to line up and for it to sit tight enough to the front and rear of the top of the engine rails. I’m at a loss and will be taking the intake and carb off for the 4th time. I’m at a loss. Getting frustrated but I’m not giving up. I recently bought a vacuum gauge. Can someone please tell me where would I attach the gauge to read vacuum on my 650 speed demon carb? Or do I go off the manifold? If I went off the carburetor I figured it would add in the carb as a possible culprit of the vacuum leak. Maybe the gasket between carb and intake? Thank you in advance for any advice.
Carl