Carb running super rich at ideal max vacuum

[cj7]

hey guys, I got a 17058213 quadrajet on a stock vortec chevy 350 that is running super rich. when ever i stop in traffic it almost burns my nostrils its so strong. and a cant go past 50% throttle without really easing into it or it will bog. it wont idle below 900(but i think that is another problem). it has been rebuilt and i redid all the bushings, and as far as i could tell, centered the blades, only a little light around the shafts. I am getting 21 inches of vacuum, which is the highest it will go. when ever i try to lean it out, the vacuum drops and it runs badly. I cant find a vacuum leak, and when i spray just a little carb cleaner down the carb it almost dies. I recently replaced a clogged fuel line, but that should have helped, before the new line, the engine was always starving. quadrajet has original jets and metering rods, float is set to 5/16. sorry for the info overload, ive been dealing with a lot of problems with this thing and want to give as much info as possible, any ideas
Thanks

[cj7]

also the idle is steady, so i don't think it is a plug leak

[blazer74]

Little more history on the carb would help.
Was it on this engine before and how did it run or where did the carb come from?
What parts were used to rebuild the carb?
Could actually be lean not rich.

[cj7]

i have no history on the previous engine, i got it off ebay, the guy said it was a 70s Chevy k series, i used cliffs rebuild kit. could the exhaust still smell awful and be extremely strong if it was lean?

[blazer74]

78 Chevy carb, do you have cliffs book, hard to say what's been done to it.
900 idle, it's getting extra air from somewhere.
Bogs on accelleration, bent primary rods, power piston stuck, just to start.  Apt miss adjusted.
If your not familiar with qjets you need to read cliffs book and go back thru the carb and see what you have.
You could back out the mix screws to see if that helps the stink but at 900 your probably into the off idle circuit and won't help the bog.

[cj7]

thanks, im getting ready to order the book, hopefully it will help

[Cliff Ruggles]

Not idling below 900rpm's should tell you something.

Vacuum leak someplace, or initial timing is way too high.  Are you using vacuum advance at idle speed?  Do you have any control with the mixture screws at all?....Cliff

[cj7]

the idle part is a linkage problem, which i just fixed, but i have control in the idle screws. something new i found out is that my air horn gasket was soaked in gas when i took it apart, so im assuming warpage, it doesn't flood but could that cause a rich problem, like over flowing into a air bleed or somthing

[Cliff Ruggles]

We have thicker airhorn gaskets for them, which usually helps with the gasket soaking issue.....Cliff

[cj7]

awesome, ill have to get one. also found something else, when i spray carb cleaner down the oil filler into the top of the heads without the pcv on, i loose vacuum and the rpm drops, does that mean a intake leak