First of all "welcome aboard", and "congratulations for getting a 36 SF", they're highly desirable boats, and some of the best looking in that size range of any of the SF variants, regardless of manufacture.
The black syrup that leaked out the throttle shaft may have come from somewhere, but I hope it didn't come from the tanks, because there's a BIG filter in most boats that's supposed to catch that kind of stuff. Two issues here: one is the filter, which is probably a Grocco unit, bronze container, replacable element, just follow the fuel line from the tank to the motor and you should find something about the size of a quart container. There is normally another small wire type filter on the front end of the 427 which is not capable of filtering out small pieces of junk that WILL jam up your jets.
Secondly, the leakage around the throttle shaft is a sign of wear, and throttle shafts that are loose will admit air to the extent that it can affect the tuning of the motor.
The Edelbrock (new) unit you bought is a 600 and not a 625, they are close enough to the original spec carb, which was oversized for the motor anyway, to not be an issue. Jets all appear reasonably close too, and we have a member running one now with good results on his 427s with no change of default jets from Edelbrock.
Fuel in the oil is symptomattic of a failed old style fuel pump, because when the diaphragm fails, fuel is allowed to get directly into the oil sump. The new style pumps route failure like this to the carb.
Nobody to my knowledge on this site has recommended a fuel pump by name and number, so you may be referring to another source, but it doesn't matter really, because you did appear to need a new one, and it sounds like you got one. Debris from the old pump, as it destroyed itself, can certainly make it's way to that small filter at the front of your motor. Better check it and blow it out, soak it, whatever it needs, because if it had junk in it, it's sure as the sun comes up in the morning that your new carbs have it too (now).
Surely you've pumped out the old fuel (and other junk) from your tanks now. I am not familiar with the enzyme stuff you've mentioned, so good luck with it, hope those bugs like to eat petroleum distillate.
With that much junk in the tanks, fuel delivery is an issue throughout the entire supply line, including the pickup tube in your tanks, the shutoff valve which can collect obstructions, the main Grocco filter which can get inundated with slime and gunk and cease to function, the fuel pump itself, the small filter at the front of the motor, and then again with all the internal parts of the carb, itself. Any obstructions in the system, anywhere, can create a lean burn situation, or a restriction that will keep the motor from drinking the kind of fuel it needs to burn enough to produce 300 horsepower.
Be sure all the openings to your new carb have covers or tubes hooked to them. Be sure you don't have an open port that is sucking in air and changing the fuel/air ratio.
Be sure you don't have an air leak under your carb at the gasket, to the manifold, because this can change the fuel/air ratio and cause missing and backfiring.
Be sure you don't have a leak in your intake manifold as it mates up to the cylinder heads. An air leak here, on the intake circuit, can cause a lean burn situation. A vac gauge is good to help diagnose this, and most vac gauges have a whole list of things to check while using one. Here's a good vac gauge thread for you to look at.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840/message/1151271270
Regardng the timing, you don't set a 427 to top dead center, you set it to the timing mark drilled in the flywheel where the pointer points through the bell housing at the rear of the motor. I think you probably set the timing to this mark, and assumed it was TDC. If you timed it to TDC then your timing is way off.
You mentioned valve settings. The 427 is EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to proper valve settings. Some mechanics these days just don't know how to set a solid lifter engine, and it's very very simple.
Improperly adjusted valves can cause excessive lifter noise, rough idle, and lack of higher rpm power. Loose valves cause lifter noise, tight valves cause rough idle. Look in the 427 section of the MASTER INDEX, and you'll find the valve settings for cold, and for hot, and naturally the best tuning can be done with the engines hot and valves set to the hot setting. The 427 section of the MASTER INDEX will also have my recommended procedures for checking valve clearances too. Let me know if you don't understand any of this, because THERE ARE NO DUMB QUESTIONS.
Is your new carb an electric choke model, a manual or what? I'm wondering if your choke is improperly set. That would sure make a motor run rich. Improperly burned combustion is also going to make it smell rich too, and if your timing is off, that would do it.
Be sure you don't have any wires misplaced. Believe it or not, a 427 will run with a couple wires crossed. Also be sure you do NOT let the wires from cylinder 7 and 8 touch, because they fire one after another so closely that you can get some induction firing across the wires, and set up a pre-ignition type popping. On a 427, standing behind the enigne looking forward, cylinder # 1 is the one on your right (starboard) front of the engine, and 2, 3 and 4 are on the same side, marching back toward the rear. Cylinder # 5 is the one on the far left (port) side, and then 6, 7, and 8 are following on that same side, marching back toward the back.
Your spark plugs may not be correct, or correctly gapped. You can't use them out of the box, they have to be set. I know this may be elementary, but I'm mentioning things for you to check, and others too. See the spark plug thread of earlier today, with all the cross referencing for the 427.
There are a variety of fuel float and jet issues, but we'll assume all of this is properly set for now. If your motor smells rich at idle,then you may want to adjust the low speed idle jet.
The ignition switch and/or the grounds at your battery, or on your motor, and starter, can cause drivability issues.
Hopefully we're not looking at any "internal" issues like head gaskets, etc. If so, those can generally be fixed.
We've covered a variety of issues, and with old motors you can have several of these working at the same time against you. Many of us have had to deal with just about all of these issues, and once you get them resolved, those engines can run like a champ. There is a chance that even if you do all of this, you may still have drivability problems due to some things that are beyond simple tuning, such as a camshaft with abnormal wear, or excessive ring/bore wear, etc., but going over the tuning issues is the first and foremost thing to do right now. There have been many a 427 that the local marina has GLADLY removed to sell new motors to the customer, only to turn around and sell those old 427s for nearly what the new motors cost.
We'll gladly help you in any way we can. Here's wishing you all the best. Keep in touch, let us know what you've done, and if you need any assistance.
regards,
Paul