I feel something is off with my new engine.

[Desert1957]

Way too much camshaft ,equals no off idle performance. Any "Street" profile camshaft that's starts at 1700 RPM, too high.

That distributor is killing it, you need to check timing to see what the "Total" advance is should be 36 -40 ALL IN.

You can get an MSD module for a stock HEI distributor which will open the top end up from 4500 rpm.

Lighter springs and weight in the distributor will let thee timing come in faster which will help your combo a lot.