While I'm not a big Edelbrock fan, the air gap manifold series produces more power out of the box (on a street/strip engine) than just about any other manifold.

The carb,

The are carb cleaners which come in 1 gallon containers that is for total submersion of the carb- avail at any "real" auto parts store. Let it sok for 24 hours to dissolve any gum/varnish. Get a rebuild kit from either summitt or a local carb rebuilding shop, dissassemble and rebuild. Then you know it is right from the start.