Looking for more pep off the line

One more time. initial means nothing without rpm. "total" means next to nothing without rpm.
Don't go wide open throttle until the baseline is established. The one way that the engine can be damaged is detonation uner heavy load (heavy acceleration in upper gears). Pull the spark plugs and see if there are aluminum specs on them. If so, that's from the piston.

You can't use a little of one procedure and mix it with a little of another procedure.

If you want to start with WOT, then you have to approach it the other way. Set up timing at a high rpm, like 2800. Then work back to other conditions.