A piston stop to find true tdc is you best friend right now. Like Greg mentioned, if the balancer has spun and the TDC mark is off, everything your seeing could be a lie!
As for too much initial and starter kick back? My street racer is locked out at 39 and starts effortlessly hot, cold, whatever. And I run a little bitty
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[email protected], .686 / .686 on a 106LC! Now thats a hell raiser!