352 problems

[fordman]

the cam gear only goes on one way. it has that pin that holds the gear in place ont he cam. thats a good guess though. and since 2 differeent dist have been tried that does rule out a broken or streched pin in the dist gear. you say that the dots on the timing gears were lined up. was this a new timing set or used? is the firing order correct?

[oddball]

I dont know if the chain and gears are new but Im going to check the back lash soon, the firing order is correct

[RTG_RACING]

Did you wire the cap clockwise or counter clockwise?

[fordman]

ok check the timing set then. and see what kind of slack you have it could be that you need to turn the dist to match the slack in the timing chain. i have had to do that.

[m-mman]

To test the timing chain, cam and valves, etc. do a compression test.
If all the mechanical parts are in time and working as they should you should have good compression. Even if it is a tired engine all the holes will be equally low.

Slack in the timing chain can be measured without tearing off the front cover. Put the #1 hole at TDC. Ensure that the timing marks are at TDC. Then turn the crankshaft backwards SLIGHTLY just until the distributor moves SLIGHTLY. Then look at the timing marks they will show you exactly how many degrees of slack you have.

On an FE the rocker shafts are tightened down solid. The valve lash/play comes from the hydrualic lifters. If one valve is open (valve spring compressed) you might feel a little slack in the closed valve because the lifter has no oil in it. (it has leaked down)
There does exist FEs with solid lifters and adjustable rockers but you didnt say you have those.

If your compression is good then the problem is electrical.
Timing? good guess but then you said the was all OK . . .

You said that you swapped distributors. By any chance did you keep the same condensor?
I have had your exact same symptoms from a several bad condensors. They can create all kinds of havoc.

[oddball]

Well I finally got the truck running a little bit better, I cant get it to idle for very long though. It runs if I keep the idle above 1200 or so rpms, it kind of misses and sputters slightly during this. When I let up off the gas the engine idles good for about 10 seconds and then dies. Turning the distributor has no effect. I took the distributor off my other truck that has Pertronix and its the same. It has a brand new Holley 4160 on it but we had the timing screwed up after it was installed and it backfired real bad a few times through the carb. Would this screw this up? I checked for vacuum leaks, and the carb is one of those "no adjustments needed". I was thinking maybe the gas was bad because its about 9 months old, there is very little sediment in the fuel filter canister. Any suggestions would be appreciated