flaky fuel meter or distributor?

[foxxinabox at wideopenwest.com (Foxx (in a box))]

   i finally got my '85 mostly dialed in properly but it still will 
start hard and run crappy (about every other time). the throttle body 
from an audi with the manifold ported to match that i used on another 
'85 with no problems. the distributor is only slightly advanced (2? or 
so) at idle. the problem seems to be in the fuel distributor/metering 
valve area. i know the valve is supposed to simply rise/fall on a 
cushion of air but this one has some resistance. i tried using brake 
cleaner to get rid of the varnish build-up and oil seepage from a dying 
head gasket but it didn't seem to help a whole lot. i adjusted the 
mixture screw though a half-turn in either direction did nothing to the 
idle. i tried taking the fuel distributor off from the top but the front 
screw twisted the tip of three screwdrivers (now soaking in penetrating 
fluid). fwiw, the distributor was unplugged and the car ran well, then 
took a minute for the idle to adjust once i plugged in back in. before i 
go swapping whole assemblies, is there anything else that i can do to 
find out if it's the metering valve or the fuel distributor? thanx.

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