I recently bought an 89 f250 with the 460 of course and I got it home and popped the hood to find out the headers are glowing hot. I let it cool off and take it around the block to see if I messed anything up and the truck won’t go over 2000 rpm. It’s a 5 speed manual and I can’t make it out of 2nd. Anyone know what this means by chance? I have no clue what it could be.

 

Welcome to FTE

Sounds like the ignition advance or timing is late or retarded, for some reason. So the unburned fuel is actually burning in the exhaust instead of the combustion chamber where it belongs.

 

I agree with the timing answer.
The timing is off and should be checked. Be sure to pull the spout and look for about 6 degrees BTDC.
The distributor could have been installed "off a tooth".
The distributor could be bad.
In the extreme the timing chain could have an issue. Although these are pretty tough double roller timing chains.

 

the distributor is brand new and nothing looks very off. Today I went to start it and the starter kept turning even after I pulled my key out. I’ve just bought a new silinoid and a manual for the truck and see if I can get it started. But thank you guys I’m gonna check my timing and if I have any more problems I’ll be back with more questions.

 

Check fuel pressure. Could be plugged filter, or bad pressure regulator.