The problems all started when I flooded it once then it started popping out the exhaust. I narrowed it down to something with the smog pump system, once it is disconnected the popping stops. replaced the check valve, diverter valve, and inspected the smog pump. Problem is still there so I just took the belt off of the smog pump for now. But now I notice when the engine warms up it has a choppy idle. Making me wonder if the catalytic converter is clogged. Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated.

 

A steady thump thump choppy idle is usually a sign one or more of the cylinders are dead. Pull all the sparkplug wires loose on top of the dist cap and leave somewhat loose so you can easily take them off. Get some gloves and pliers and with the engine running, take the wires off the dist cap one at a time. If the wire being off makes it run worse, that cylinder is working. If one does not make any difference, that cylinder is dead.

By the way, what engine are you working on? Have you done a tune-up on it lately?

 

Dave is on the right track. The "smog pump system" puts air into the exhaust so that unburned fuel can be burned in the catalytic converter. The reason it is popping is that you have a miss that is causing unburned fuel to go through the engine and light off in the exhaust. And disconnecting the belt just makes the symptoms go away, not the problem. You need to find out which cylinder(s) are missing and fix the cause.