I wonder what power valve is in your carb. You have to check vaccum when it's trying to idle in gear. I don't know your cam size but in neutral it should idle even at 1500 rpms , if your cam/crank timing is set at specs.
32 total is ok for basic testing. plug vaccum to distributor, set main idle set screw to just about zero with breather off, screw in idle mixture screws then out about 3/4 to 1 turn each. car in neutral and chocked tires with emergency brake on. use a starter remote to get engine running, make sure any vaccum line is plugged. Make sure you have the right pcv valve. Unplug the vaccum from the brake booster and seal it off. when engine is running (even if keeping it running by hand, hold your other hand over the throat of the carb and see if it idles up at all. This is like a choke. You can use a shop rag also. The car should idle at some type of rpm. If not, you may have a bad carb not tuned to your system, or the tiiming chain is out of sink. if you can get the thing to idle in gear, you need to pull a vacuum then to see what range power valve/valves you need. if it's at 4 you need a 3 if it's at 3 you need a 2.5 if it's at 6 you need a 4.5 in other words a bit lower then the vacuum reading you have. If the car has backfired in previous attemps, you may have caused the power valve to go bad. If so, it will not idle right. This is just basic steps I'd check first before changing out your cam. Another known good carb to try out would help to diagnose as well. A leaking intake valve will also cause a bad idle, but you should be able hear it in the carb. A bad intake gasket would also draw air from inside the engine and would not show up spraying around the extrernal areas checking for leaks. This is just a few ideas I am saying for your tuning help.
