Help; 454 BBC stalling

[Scott Parkhurst]

I'd sure double-check the timing at idle (with and without vacuum advance hooked up). If it's off too far either way, it'll die.

It sounds like it's got too much advance (losing a slew of rpm between idle and drive) and probably clunks when dropped into gear.

With a little less advance, there will be less of a change from neutral/park to drive. Optimally, it should only drop slightly, but if the timing is off, it'll ker-plunk into gear.