[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Thanks for the gas pedal assistance gentlemen! I must add that to my ever-growing repair list!

**UPDATE**
I went through the chewed wiring and fixed what I could figure out, then installed an ignition switch that I bought from a forum member. I still do not have working lights yet, but that will be dealt with later. I even plugged in my repinned gauge pod plug into my factory gauge pod, but no illumination lights came on when I tested it. Electrical gremlins be damned!
I bought a new battery, installed that, then turned the switch. The engine turned over very strongly, so out of curiosity, I poured some gas into the carb (gas tank is still disconnected) to see if it would fire (it did not).
So I decided to stick to my original plan, pulled out the carb and sent to a friend to be rebuilt.
Next up I am installing a HEI distributor (as soon as someone comes to my house to show me step-by-step instructions), and a new fuel pump just to be on the safe side). After all of this I sure hope it fires up!
Can anyone think of anything else mechanical that I probably should do to this beast that has not started in 10 years?