The intermediate shaft was off by one or two teeth. After three attempts, finally got the engine to crank around a couple of times with everything lining up at TDC properly. Bizarre that things kept jumping teeth. What a bitch.

Idle problem was fixed with duct tape as the idle screw is so loose that vibration was making it run in and out.

Car now runs like a champ -- I am duly impressed at the Zeke-ster. Driving him to work tomorrow.

Oh, and yes, now it has the metal timing cover. As for polishing things, I dunno about that. This car was going to be turned into a fully-prepared rally car. Instead, I'm buying one already that way. Muchos easieraros. Takereasy.