need some tips - engine running ROUGH all of a sudden

[onyxxtreme]

My engine was running smooth as butter. But i had to replace the valve cover gaskets. After doing that, I degreased the engine. I removed everything from the intake manifold, and took the rest of the emissions equipment off too, so I could get to the actual engine to clean it.
After I finished cleaning, I put everything back together. While I was at it, I changed the plugs, fuel filter, PCV valve, breather filter, fixed all the damaged wiring, ran all the wiring thru new convoluted tubing, and finished replacing the rest of the vacuum lines....also replaced the "ported vacuum switch", that I broke earlier.
And then I changed the oil, just incase some of the cleaner or water managed to make its way inside.
Well, now when I crank it up, it runs ROUGH. It's having trouble idling, and sounds like garbage. Sounds like its got an exhaust leak, and misfiring. I moved it around in my driveway, and there is almost no power at all. This was a few minutes ago, after dark, so I really can't jump right into it and pull everything apart again to figure this out. Gotta wait till the morning.

So any ideas what I might have messed up? I'm gonna re-check all the connections, make sure the plug wires are on right. Then I'll try to rig up a smoke machine to test for vacuum leaks....Or I'll just do the cigar trick.
Is it possible for water to get up in the distributor? I'll pull the cap off and inspect it, but I've never messed with a distr. before, so I wouldn't know what to exactly look for, besides corrosion.

Excuse all the stupid questions, but my mind is racing at the moment. I was planning on taking my car down the road and renting a bay with a lift, in the morning, to install my new lowering springs, and transmission filter & pan gasket. I wasn't expecting to be dealing with tracing down engine problems 🙁

 

[Hoopty_Mike]

I de-grease my engine bay every time I take it to the DIY car wash by my school, the first time I washed it I soaked the distributor and it ran like crap until I sprayed everything down with some WD(water displacement)-40, now I carry some in the trunk at all times. I would give that a shot before you get too crazy. Might even be dry by the time you go to start it in the morning.

 

[Dennyboy]

you probubly got water in the dizzy. or you could have the plug wires on wrong. thats what i would check first. to check for vacuum leaks a can of brake clean works well. really sounds like ignition is messed up though.

 

[onyxxtreme]

I actually washed the engine, a week or 2 ago...been waiting on parts to come in the mail.
Yall think water might still be in there, or it caused some serious corrosion in there already?
btw, i think I forgot to mention in the previous post, this is a dualjet 231

 

[CamaroAdam73]

Put a vacc gauge on it and post what kind've reading you get at idle, and RPM if you can. Pull that cap off and check it out, you can probably get a cheap one at an autoparts store just to throw on and see if it solves the problem, if not take it back. Double check firing order.

now when you say you took everything from the intake do you mean you removed the carb as well?

You said you hear an exhaust leak? If your car has the smog pump / spider vein setup and you removed it, could be something going on there.

 

[tc1959]

Ran fine until you changed the plugs. I would check to see if you cracked a plug or possibly crossed a plug wire.

 

[onyxxtreme]

whoops, never posted the fix
i dont know exactly what fixed it, but I found another vacuum line tore up, that I missed, and replaced that.
Then I pulled the cap off the dist. and there was corrosion inside on the contacts and the rotor arm, so cleaned that......i didn't find any moisture inside the dizzy, but not for sure there wasn't any, while it was actually running poorly.
and it was running good after that.

 

[Dennyboy]

yah one vacuum line can make all the difference.