Just dropped in motor, help please

[69ChevySB]

I started my truck up last night for the first time...i just recently put a rebuilt 350 and t400 transmission in. I drove down the street, but when I have it in 3rd it doesn't shift. I don't have my kickdown switch hooked up, but it should still shift shouldn't it? I was driving and it shifted at like 2200, but then i kept going and it wouldnt shift again. I stopped and went again but it doesnt shift like it should, only sometimes. Could this be my vacuum lines? there is one coming from the transmission and one coming from the distributor, where are these supposed to go?

someone told me that they are supposed to go to the carburetor and someone told me they go to the intake. Where is the better place to put them? in front of my edelbrock carb where the two little outlets are, or on my edelbrock rpm intake where the little hole is plugged off. I bought the vacuum tree that replaces the plug. I don't know though, could this be the reason why it won't shift all the time? Please help, I wanna cruise... :P also when I am driving there is a funny sound as I accelerate kind of like a metal grating sound, could this be the driveshaft? am I supposed to grease the yolk before I put it in the transmission? or should I get a grease gun and grease the little nipple on the shaft.

oops one more thing. what is the timing supposed to be set at? should it be at exactly zero or should i go to the left of the zero or the right of the zero? also, how many rpms should my truck idle at? all help would be appreciated. thanks tons

[Cat Fuzz]

The transmission modulator should be connected to manifold vacuum. This is why its not shifting right.

The best way to set the timing is by ear. But you need to know what to listen for. I rarely use a timing light to set timing. What I do is drive the truck and listen for the knock. Knocking indicates too much advance. If it knocks, I retard the timing a bit and listen again. If it still knocks, retard it a bit more until the knock goes away. If you don't have the ear for this a setting of 8-10 degrees before top dead center should do it.

[69ChevySB]

ok i put the vacuum from the transmission to the intake, and what about the one that goes to the distributor? does it go to the left or the right on my edelbrock carb. my truck shifts fine now when im driving, but i dont have a kickdown switch on my 400 and i am using type f transmission fluid. will this hurt any?

[Cat Fuzz]

I have my vacuum advance on the left side of my Carter. Pretty much the same as an Edelbrock.

[68c10owner]

one port has full time vacuum and the other pulls vacuum when you rev the motor, thats the one you want. if i remember correctly it`s called ported vacuum. it`s been awhile since i messed with motors. been messin` with the harleys too much, lol it`s good to be back into the trucks and hotrods again.

[shuttermutt]

Don't sweat the kickdown too much. Sure, get it hooked up when you've got the time, but not having it just means she won't, well... kick down when you gas it.

As to the Type F tranny fluid, it shouldn't be a problem in a recently rebuilt GM tranny. A lot of the track guys run Type F blood. You'll get a quicker, harder shift and, so the legend goes, your tranny will run a little cooler under heavy use. Take note, however, that it's been reported that the older seals in GM trannys don't like the Type F too well.

Oh, don't get lazy and "forget" to change that oil and tranny fluid after a couple of hours of run time. I don't care if Smokey Yunick himself did the rebuild, there's gonna be crud in that oil that you don't want to leave hanging around. Me? I like to drop the oil pan to check the pickup screen, too.

Enjoy!