That's normal, as the engine comes up on comprssion it gets harder.
I don't know Clay...it seems tougher than yesterday, and the 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel engine in the garage is easier to rotate.
Blowing back into the air filter sounds like a timing issue.
That's what I thought...
Are the plugs all routed correctly?
Yes.
Is the dist in correct?
I believe so. The trailing edge of the rotor is just leaving the #1 terminal at TDC.
I thought on that year you set the engine to TDC on cylinder #1 and then drop the dist in and lock it down. I thought it would only go in one way? Or is it still gear driven?
Gear driven. It seemed to be out one tooth, so I re-indexed it....still the same.
Did you check the porcelain block by the battery?
I tried jumping it, but it didn't seem to make a difference. One of the Packrats is coming by tomorrow to help out.
The one thing I haven't checked is the cam sensor.