The past month, my baby has been a royal pain.
At first, the timing wouldn't advance so I threw some parts at her: MSD coil, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, and a new timing chain. The timing chain fixed my "bogging" problem, but of course something else is going wrong now.
Last night was my first test drive with all the new gear. I was so excited, I thought she was finally gonna be the beast that I knew a month ago. Boy, was I wrong.
For starters, I couldn't spin the tires or anything. Definitely a lack of hp. Other than that, though.. for the first 6 or 7 miles, she was okay.
Then without warning (no sputter, no vibration), the engine just died and the light came on as expected. But what's strange is that I kept power and she was still running (electrical wise).. So I threw her in neutral while I was rolling and cranked her back up.. no problem.
Then it got progressively worse. At this point, I'm about 5 miles from my house, and I'd get about 100 or 200 feet, then she'd cut off and each time it was harder and took longer to turn over. Still no warning each time. Needless to say, I didn't make it home. I parked it at a gas station and when I picked her up this morning, she cranked up perfectly and drove to work (O'Reilly Auto Parts) and I checked my battery it's 100%.
She drove home fine from there, still a noticeable lack of hp. After sitting for about 10 minutes, I cranked her up let her run for a couple minutes then she died again.. in Park.
My baby is a 1990 305 TBI with a 700r4. There's an after market in-line electric fuel pump (a Holley Blue) that I've had on for 5 months without problems. I've troubleshooted with a couple buddies and have gotten answers ranging from ignition to fuel filter to neutral safety switch.
Please, if you have any ideas as to what I need to check, let me know. I have to drive a soccer mom MINIVAN until my Camaro is back on the road! HELP!
Thanks, Heather.

 

Could be quite a few things. My guess is either a fuel delivery issue or ignition issue.

Starting with your lack of HP issue. I would be sure that something simple wasn't missed. Double-check that the timing chain is aligned correctly, correct firing order, set the timing to the spec on the sticker on the hood (0 degrees with the wire unplugged and in gear if I remember correctly).

As for the engine dying issue, this is probably related to the HP issue, but might not be. I am leaning more towards an ignition issue. You mentioned that the original problem was that the timing was not advancing. I assume that it is now. I would try to create the issue. Check for spark at each plug wire (Check the coil wire too) with a timing light. You should have a steady consistent spark. If not we can go from there.

It could be fuel related. I'm thinking not since you stated that it dies all of a sudden. Generally it will spit and cough at least a little if you lose all fuel pressure.

 

So I've driven it more today, and realized that the bogging has not stopped.
Let me just throw this out there: Catalytic Converter.
Okay, on that note.. What if it's restricted? Then, as the exhaust system heats up (aka.. the longer the car is driven), the worse the symptoms get.
Here is my set up: Stock manifold and pipes all the way to the cat, then no muffler, and a single 2" pipe comes from the cat to the tailpipe which comes out in front of my passenger side rear tire. It's loud as crap but sounds so dang sexy.
I'm gonna take my O2 sensor off tomorrow and/or create a gap between the collector pipe (I think that's the term for it) and the cat and then drive around to see if it stops the missing, dying and bogging.