[tekuhn]

Very interesting and much different from mine which is a manual choke, 3-speed car (and a '61 engine btw).

I would be looking for vacuum leaks. I am curious about that vacuum line running from the manifold distribution block to the upper portion of the carb. Is that part of the choke system that helps pull the heated air through the choke thermostat coil? Would be curious if that is leaky and bleeding off a lot of vacuum.

Is your vacuum advance mechanism functioning correctly? You should be able to pull (and plug) the line from the distributor while the engine is running and experience a noticeable drop in RPM.

Maximizing the timing and vacuum levels so that the car will idle at the lowest throttle blade opening will keep the carb fully on the idle circuit and minimize the chance of dieseling.

On cars with lower vacuum levels like some of the Ram Air engines, Pontiac used an idle stop solenoid that basically closed the throttle blades when the ignition switched off to prevent dieseling.