Lean pop off idle?

Yeah, it does have low cranking pressure. When I first got it there was a Mopar tach drive distributor in it set up to go to max advance as soon as the car started.
Jim and Cody Laroy are award winning engine builders. IQ52 is Jim's screen name here. He has posted in detail more than one build with very low static compression that makes a lot of power. One was a 7.35:1 engine. That's why I always tell people to try to tune "what they have" first, because without fail, working with what's already there is the most budget friendly path.