Hesitation in 3rd and 4th (please help!)

[HoodStrype]

Adjusted the tps and drove it for 5 minutes... started again- the thing hesitates and exhaust starts sounding crappy. I think it may have backfired. I'm going to check the timing, considering when we unhooked some of the vacuum lines and one back up and inserted a little 1 1/2" threaded grommet back into the back of the intake the car quit "Camming" and ran smooth. The idle was then up to 2000 rpm so we backed it down. That is when I started having problems. The vacuum lines look ok to me though?
It does have the egr eliminated and the smog pump eliminated. So much for the track tonight!