Everybody's got an opinion, but you asked, so...
If it were me, I would go with a Holley 4150. I LOVE the edelbrocks for a nearly stock engine, but not when you're making some power. Find somebody local who you can trust and have them help you tune the carb.
I would also go MSD box and distributor.
First though, start with the basics. Are you running out of fuel? Did you open the Edelbrock and set the floats?
Lastly, I think a lot of guys reading this missed the fact that $8500 was not for just the engine, it was more than that. Don't be too discouraged, it just needs some tweaking.
