So very stuck...

R3N0 said

By the time this video was posted I had already rolled back the gear. It's working well though, set it at 16* and getting 36* all in. No more tail pipe popping. I'm going to test drive it here in a bit. 1 thing I would like to ask about, the position of the AV is pointed directly at the intake leaving almost no room to plug in the VA. Is the VA neccessary? And if so would dropping the timing to 14 and giving the vaccum hose clearance be a bad thing? Does the VA make up the lost degrees?

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You're doing OK, fix the issue w/o worrying about vacuum advance first, then You can address adding it later. There are different "cans" that add different maximum amounts of timing, and then there is the spring tension adjustments, but none of that matters with Your right foot planted in the floorboards.
One thing that is lost is the that the fast-burn heads require less timing, & most J-X-U headed SBs end up with 33-34° total as best. Don't get obsessed trying to achieve a fictitious "ideal" total, & "best power" isn't always safe either, unless You've cc'd & matched all the chambers within 1-2cc's. I've seen 1 chamber cast shallow on a run of heads, in the case I often cite, 906's were run with the cyl.#3/#6 position chambers a good 5-6 cc shallow of the rest. Power timing will put six cylinders at their best, and two into detonation, because the 6 will mask the 2. Pulled heads on these & found the telltale pitting on the pistons 3&6, "running fine", so it's not worth pushing the max limit of timing....especially on a heavy ride.
P.S. I skipped a page, but be sure engine temp is normal & fuel isn't going a little lean on You.