With 3 pages of notes for where all the hoses and wires go, I now have my intake manifold off and am assessing the mess underneath.
I can blow through the breather box just fine, so it doesn't seem to be clogged but the nipple where the flame trap hose attaches is split (the split is wider at the bottom than the top, almost a teardrop shape). I sure hope it's supposed to be this way, but I kind of doubt it.
Do I need to replace it and if so, do I have to remove the fuel distributor, the big rubber boot and the other thing that I don't know the name of yet (control pressure regulator? - has an electrical connecter at the top and some fuel lines with banjo bolts) to be able to replace the breather box?
I was planning on replacing all the vacuum lines and leaving the fuel lines alone, although the rubber housings on some of them look flattened and worn where they have been pressed against the manifold. Do these need to be replaced as well?
This is turning out to be a bigger job than I expected but so far, as long as I just think about one step at a time (and with the nice guys in this forum as a lifeline) I haven't completely lost confidence that I can still put it all back together...