yeah, the timing drops back down to base and is rock solid, with the spout in, the timing does move around when playing with the throttle, however it isn't exactly what i would call smooth.

i tested the spout wire for short to ground and power, and did a voltage drop test on it.

 

I would start thinking about a bad PCM......

 

lookie what I found...



connector 178 that holds the wiring for the injectors and the ignition. on the back of the left hand side of the engine, mine was laying against the crossover tube... I tried to find a new harness at the pull-a-part, but couldn't find anything older than an 89, and apparently ford relised it was a bad spot and ran the wiring from the front of the valve cover over to the inner fender. the connector I used came in a bunch of wiring that came with my bronco's engine, same style connector and most of the wires are even the right color.

here is its new location, attached to the coil bracket.


only finished it tonight, but already seems to be running tons better. i'm gonna drive it a bit, and check that 18 is still gone.