Dammit, I forgot to answer the second question.
Pinging only occurs under load, so the only way to get your engine to ping in your garage is to get the front bumper against the wall, and accelerate the engine, with the tranny in gear, to just before the point where the tires would lose traction (don't touch the brakes either!). If it's gonna ping, that's when it will do it.
***FWIW, that's how guys used to set their timing in the "good 'ol days"! One guy would do this with the car, while his partner would advance the distributor until pinging started, and then back it off until it stopped, and tighten it down.***
You can also put it in 4th gear while driving 10 mph, and punch it, but that will only tell you if you have a timing issue, not a fuel supply issue.
Rather than listening for the popcorn kernal in a coffee can, try listening for maracas.
Take care,
~Chris