OK. I really screwed up...bad. The worst part is I should know better. In Vera, my 87 D150 I cut out the cats because they were clogged and broken inside and have no O2 sensors, removed the air pump and plugged the rubber portion of the air pump hose with a wooden file handle, it fit beautifully. Then I managed to light a fire in the engine compartment.. while welding the pipes back in place I lit my Chiltons manual on fire and melted the vacuum lines and the charcoal canister. So, I plugged all the vacuum ports on the carb and she fired right up. However it won't go up a hill, it bucks and slams hard under a uphill load at any speed, except in first gear. I can however drive peacefully down a flat road and the engine is smooth as glass. I found a new set of lines at the junk yard and put them back in place which made no difference. I tested for leaks with a propane torch and found nothing. What could it be? Should I put a new carb on it without 5,000 vacuum ports? Is it something stupid I'm missing? Help! Considering moving from the mountains to Iowa. Thanks.

Welcome! Sorry you're having trouble. Does your truck still have its original ignition computer? If so it will need to be connected to the correct vacuum port on the carburetor to properly sense load and deliver the correct ignition advance aka timing. Without the correct advance the distributor rotor to cap terminal phasing may be off significantly and the sparks may be jumping to the wrong terminals causing the havoc you're experiencing. I would also check the ignition system to be sure the tune up parts such as the plugs, cap and rotor are in good condition. Also, people have found that getting the firing order wrong can lead to an engine that will idle, but not take a load.

Chilton was a good reference in the 1960s and tapered off to near uselessness by the time your truck was built. If you want to maintain the electronic spark control you'll need good reference materials. Most people with failed electronic spark control backdate to the earlier electronic ignition system which uses a distributor with vacuum advance. The complication with that is the additional need for a carburetor which has a ported vacuum source for the distributor. Your truck's original carburetor has full-time vacuum which is connected to the ignition computer.

_________________
Joshua

no loss on the Chilton's manual. They ain't that good anyway, almost as useless as a Haynes.

It don't sound like you screwed up, if the cats were in fact bad they had to come out. And on the rest, sounds like you are well on your way. Just haven't finished yet. Unless you live in a draconian area that says "it must stay exactly as it was originally assembled" as a condition of getting licensed, the best thing would be to obtain a distributor and carb from a little older /6 and swap them in. Then (your choice) either wire in a 4 pin ecu as Mopar used before the computer came in or do the HEI swap, lots of coverage on either within the site. It's funny in a way, the fire part/ but that was someone telling you to toss those parts that were damaged anyways

On my 85 the front cat had disintegrated and the guts plugged the rear one solid so it would barely run. And blew out the gasket between the two manifolds, the firewall was soot-black, from the exhaust leak that it caused. All power washed clean and computer along with all of its wiring, now gone