Ayuh,..... Try wiping it off with thinner on a rag,.....
If it's dried on,.... Sand it off as you sand the rest of the hull, in prepping for paint,....
Ayuh,..... I don't know yer tank, but if it isn't set up to use a fill hose, 'n plumbed for a vent, nor an in-tank gauge,....
I'd say, you need a tank that is,....
Ayuh,..... Yer talking about the shift shoe, 'n foot,.....
I'm talkin' about the bell crank, that meets the cable's end,.....
The roller on the bell crank, rides in the slot on the end of the cable,....
Ayuh,....... Pull the fuel filter, dump it's contents into a clear vessel, 'n look for anything but clean fresh gasoline,.....
Go out, run it til it stutters, then loosen the fuel cap, 'n listen for a Woosh,...
If so, the tank vent is plugged,....
Ayuh,..... Did you split the lower from the upper units,..??
If not,..... My guess is the roller missed the slot on the bell crank, when you slid the drive on,.....
Ayuh,...... An '88 will be a steel cover, 'n probably rusted up,.....
Timing covers are dirt cheap in the grand scheme of things,.....
Why, O Why wouldn't you slap a new cover 'n gasket, while yer doin' the oil pan,.....
If yer tryin' to save money, there's Nothing marine about a SBC oil...
Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,..... 2 minutes is a very long time to spin a dry rubber impeller,.....
Regardless, 2 minutes is an extremely long time to run a wet exhaust, dry,...
I suspect you've burnt the shutters to a crisp, which can cause them to fall down to the bottom of the y-pipe...