Nervous mechanic needing help/support/a big greasy hug!

[Lippyp]

I need some help/reassurance guys, it has to be the best part of 20 years since I last tore into an engine any deeper than just a routine service and I'm a bit nervous, not the least because its only been inline fours I've worked on and never a V8. I have fully rebuilt a couple of Triumph engines, redone heads on alfasuds so I'm not a novice but I have lost a bit of confidence I guess.

This is what I need to do and any advice/help/list of stuff I should have to hand would be very welcome. At the moment I have a 1969 350 in my 67, it has ramshorns, duals, the stock intake manifold with a newish Carter AFB sat on top, carter electric fuel pump, electric fan, Mallory twin point dizzy, an internally regulated alternator and an unknown but possibly not stock cam. It also has manual drums.

I have a brand new Edelbrock performer eps manifold to go on with a felpro gasket set, a used stock HEI distributor with new cap, rotor and even a new GM module if I need it, a set of leads for the HEI, a brand new M&H engine wiring loom modified for HEI. I'm going to buy a set of decent intake bolts to go with it (any reccomendations?)

So I'm guessing the order is as follows:

Remove plugs, rotate engine until no 1 cylinder is on the compression stroke and the rotor is pointing to the no1 wire.
Drain coolant
Disconnect gas lines, throttle rod, choke cable and remove carb, remove valve covers
Remove dizzy
Undo intake bolts a few turns each in turn until all are out
Lever off intake
Clean up mounting faces

Then it all gets a little more hazy!

Do I use the rubber end seals that come with the gasket or RTV sealant when refitting? Do I used any gasket cement on the gaskets? What about sealant on any of the bolts?

From what I've read on here it seems most people reccomend using RTV sealant, letting it go off for a short while and then dropping the intake carefully on. I take it theres then a specific order for doing the bolts up like there is with head bolts? What torque setting do I use?

The I guess its a matter of lining up the rotor arm in the HEI dizzy with what I want to be no 1 wire and carefully dropping it in so it stays lined up and then bolt it down. Is there a gasket that goes under the dizzy?

After that its a matter of figuring out where the new wires all go as my loom has been fairly hacked around and connecting them all up. Refit the carb with a new gasket, reconnect the lines and then fire her up and adjust the timing, I have a decent timing light. What sort of advance should I be looking at?

I also have a set of Mickey T cast valve covers with associated pcv valve etc to go on. Once that is up and running its the turn of stopping with a power booster setup to go on and a new set of lines all round.

Any advice, how tos, tips and tricks wholly welcomed as I am very nervous, I've kind of lost my Mojo a bit when it comes to weilding the spanners afetr years of dailies that were technologically beyond me (and that I had no real interest in working on)

So kit list:

Intake manifold - check
Intake gasket set - check
Thread sealer? - reccomendations?
RTV sealant? - reccomendations?
Carb gasket - reccomendations?
Intake bolt set - reccomendations?

Anything else I've missed?

Thanks for your help guys and I'm sure there'll be many more questions once I start.