I have a timing light that has the numbered ****/dial on the back which I’m using to time my 86 IROC with a 305 TPI. From what I understand you get the car to operating temperature then turn it off and unplug the EST wire. Then start the car back up then turn the dial on the timing light to zero and adjust the distributor until you get the mark on the balancer to 6 degrees BTDC. Once you get the timing to six degrees BTDC, I also understood that if you turn the **** on the timing light to 6 degrees the mark on the balancer should be at zero. I am able to set the timing to six degrees with the timing light at zero with no issues, but when I check the timing with the light set to six degrees the balancer mark is not at zero? It is at around 3 or 4 degrees BTDC and at times it will sporadically advance a few degrees. I am having an issue only on initial cold starts where the car will start fine but the RPMS will dip just a little then idle high(1600-1700RPMS) until it settles down. As it is settling down I notice that the RPM needle is a little unsteady. Also the exhaust at times smells as if the car is running rich. I feel it is either a timing problem or an idle air control valve issue. I know it is hard to diagnose with out live streaming data but I don’t have the tools to do that yet. I just want to verify if the timing issue I described was normal or not and would appreciate any info/advice. Thank you