Low vacuum. EGR? Timing belt?

Playing with a Lima 2.3. Carb seems happy. Timing seems happy. Plugs, cap, rotor all new. It seems to be running pretty well just very low on power (and yes, I know it wont ever be a rocket). For some reason no matter what I tweak I can't get it to pull more than 10# at idle. I would expect noise if the valves were somehow out of adjustment and it is quiet, and I would expect to burn oil if the rings were shot and no smoke. So either a pretty good vacuum leak, timing is off, or maybe EGR stuck open? My emissions-fu is weak, but I am quite familiar with carbs and distributors.

How do I test an EGR valve? Is that even a possibility?

I have a timing belt set I haven't had time to install yet. Was planning to as history is unknown, but life has been busy.

Can't find any vacuum leaks, but still a possibility I suppose.

The car is still very usable, just curious what y'all think. This is my first foray into Lima ownership, and I like it. 

10inHg is pretty low.  Stock cam?  Is your timing belt off a tooth?

If the cam timing is correct, why not spray WD40 or something around any potential source of vacuum leak (intake manifold, hoses, carb base, essentially any gasket/seal area). The oil should momentarily seal the leak, or certainly alter the idle.

EGR should be sealed off at idle.  You could pull the vacuum hose to it and plug it, and see if that changes anything.

You can reach your fingers in through the frame of the EGR and lift the diaphragm inside to "unseat" the EGR and see if it gets worse (it should).

In reply to SkinnyG :

I believe it is stock cam, and I found a receipt in the stack he gave me for a timing belt job a few years ago, but from a quick lube place so that is suspect.

I'll have to make the time to dive in and find out. The other thing to note is this thing has zero bottom end. Starting from a stop is an exercise in patience and clutch feathering. What little power it has doesn't come in until well into the 2000 rpm range which for a stock engine (hopefully) is rather odd.

If belt jumps a tooth, it'll retard the cam,  killing your bottom end and producing low vacuum.

When I was young and stupid, I tried my old 2.0L Pinto with the cam belt advanced one tooth, and retarded one tooth. I never drove it on the street, but the difference was SIGNIFICANT.  There was a lot more cylinder pressure advanced, and a whole lot less retarded. I never checked vacuum as I didn't think of it (at the tender age of 14) and didn't have a gauge then even if I did think of it.

At least the Lima is an easy shield away from checking.

Low and steady vacuum reading.

Late ignition timing or low compression.

Good call, SkinnyG. This little fox is super user friendly. Took about 35 minutes to get the timing cover off, find the cam was one tooth slow, put it back together and fire it up. Oddly it took a lot less cranking to get it running. Idled right off the bat, and has much better low end response and a ton more power under the curve. 10/10, would fix again. 

And a major upside to having no ac and no power steering is not having much to move out of the way. A fan and one belt. Winning. 

And there was much rejoicing.