First off, wecome home and thanks for your service. Think safety first. Make sure it stops well and the suspension and tires are up to the task. If it moves you've got to make sure it'll stop too. You say it moves kind of choppy at slow speeds. I'd guess a man trans right? Sounds like you have a lopey cam. It'll have those manners at slow speeds with alot of overlap. Not much you can do about that unless you want to swap cams with something ground on a 114 or so CL and less overlap. Tip of the iceberg my friend. Should be fun.
Thanks! yes, my car is a stick(TREMEC TK-500). That sounds right about the cam. I have a few other clues that hint towards a cam with overlap. I will probably change out the cam when I have the heads replaced.
I am all about the safety too. The brakes are first (Tuesday) and I will not be driving it at all until then.
The Bird Man, My Bird: 1969 T/A convertible tribute, 455 w/TREMEC 5-speed. Moder, not a purist... but I love that classic T/A look!