compression test showed 140 in 1 and 2 and 160 in 3 and 4. plugs wires are on right and tight, that was one of the first things i doubled checked. Messing with the distributor does nothing to help the problem. that why i'm thinking the cam and crank are not timed properly so it runs like crap at low rpm but when the distributor advances when i get up in the rpm it clears up. i'll take the valve cover off and see if the marks line up, if i see anything odd i'll take some pics and post up and see what you guys think