The illustration that 49 Custom provided in post #23 has the correct cylinder configuration and firing order.
Modern Ford engines have swapped 2 and 8. (I have an OT 289.) Now I'm wondering if the carb is too rich, since it appears to have fired after sitting for a while (could it be flooding?). Bruce is the man to ask about that.
To check flooding...just disconnect feed to carb and try to start. At some point, with no fuel coming in, carb will meander through the right float level and fire up till it runs low. And on firing order...be sure you are numbering the cylinders correctly, as flathead is a bit odd.
... most larger trucks came equipped with a governor and hydravac brakes (flatty in my roadster is from an F-600 and had them when I pulled it out). Many of the truck intakes (8RT) had a large vacuum port for the hydravac breaks. If the governor was removed there may be ports to plug or you may have a leaking hydravac. Also check you gas cap. Had a 50 IHC that would not run until I took the gas cap off. Cap was non-vented - created a vacuum in the tank preventing fuel from moving to the carb. Good luck.
Just another updated gentleman After much f$&?!ng around and following the advice of my fellow hambers I have found the following 1. Stock fuel pump is putting out 5-6 pounds I will add a regulator 2. My brand new msd distributor has a problem with the cap and rotor. I have a good spark from the coil but an intermittent spark at the plug! Some times it works and sometimes not. It just works enough to sent a spark every 2-3 revolutions.
Yeah, oddly enough the fuel pump produces much more pressure than a single (or even dual) carb setup needs. Apparently, the pump can overwhelm the float valve causing all sorts of trouble. Also, do you have the recommended type of new wires required for the MSD?
I had to dig through some old carbs to find some needle valves with steel tips - the modern one piece valves with a rubber disc wouldn't seal. Mart.
Hambers I had pertronix coil installed. Msd tech support said would work. Replaced this morning with msd coil fired right up. Msd coil no built in balest resistor. Pertronix has built in 1.5 ohm resistance. Lesson well learned! Thanks again for all of you help and support.
Awesome to hear, Ron. Damn, I almost asked about a ballast resistor, but when I checked the circuit diagram, I didn't see one. You will be very happy with the MSD parts; I even put in a 6A multispark box in mine and really lit the old flatty up.
Just got back after dinner and a little drive and the truck rocks! This is a big truck 20' long and it was worth all of the problems. Thanks again hambers!