Sputter - Please help (Long)

[sleeperstang]

Guys,

I recently rebuilt my engine, and it has yet to be broken in (only 72 miles so far) for the following reason: I have a sputter condition from idle through the rpm. It really feels like a misfire. I'm running a pertronix ignition + pertronix coil + pertronix wires, Comp 262XE cam,

I've done the following:

Vacuum test: 15.5" varies +- .5"
Compression test: ~155 psi on all cylinders
Put points back on, same condition
Tried different coil, same condition
All wires within spec
Brand new Duralast Gold (Autozone Heavy Duty brand) Cap & Rotor Kit

Thought it was a carb/intake problem: tried 3 different carbs (2 - 2 barrels, 1 - new 600 cfm edelbrock) and I replaced my old 2 barrel intake for a new performer rpm intake so I guess this means it's not a fuel problem. Also replaced fuel filter when I installed the new carb/intake.

The vacuum advance was replaced 6 months ago + I changed the springs (Crane Advance Kit) and I know the vacuum diaphragm is good. Also, I've tried the vacuum diaphragm on both ports on the carb: full and timed ports and had no change either way.

The last thing I did was check the voltage at the coil with the engine running, although I'm not sure I did it correctly. Last night I turned the car on and put the red multi-tester lead to the '+' side of ignition coil and then put the black lead on the '-' batter post. The reading I got was 8.99 or ~9 volts. Again this is with the engine running. I thought I was supposed to get 12 volts to the ignition coil, but this is one place I really have no knowledge or experience.

Thanks for all your help in advance!

[PKRWUD]

What's your fuel pressure at idle? What is it when the sputtering occurs?
Are your flywheel and balancer both of the 28 ounce variety?
Are your spark plug wires touching each other anywhere after the distributor cap?

You said it ran the same with the distributor vacuum advance connected to either the full or timed port, yes? This is a problem. There should be quite a difference. What carb are you running?
Have you inspected the spark plugs to see how they look?
try unplugging and grounding one spark plug wire at a time, and see if you can find a dead cylinder. If you pull a wire, and it runs no different, you've found a dead cylinder.

Answer these questions, and we'll go from there.

[sleeperstang]

The flywheel and balancer are both of the 28 oz variety, and they were used to balance the assembly.

The spark plug wires are separated with wire separators.

"You said it ran the same with the distributor vacuum advance connected to either the full or timed port, yes?"
- What I meant was that the sputter was present both ways, but there is definitely a difference in rpm due to the advance from the vacuum.

All spark plugs look clean. I've done the pull the plug deal on each cylinder and they all made the engine run crappy, so no dead cylinders.

However, the latest seems to be that the problem is fixed. I spoke with my cousing who has a good bit of experience and he suggested me taking the distributor out and checking the play on the shaft. It had a good bit, so I went and bought another and the engine worked fine. Another interesting thing was that after I had tried the new distributor, which came with all new points and condenser, it worked fine. I then changed it back to my pertronix set up and it went to running crappy again. It works, but doesn't seem to pick up nicely. So I went back to points. My warranty is out, so I'm not sure I'm going to replace it. I think I'll save some money and go for an MSD 6A and a duraspark distributor later.

Thanks for your reply Pkrwud.