Hi,

I’m strictly a 240 man but we have closely the same running gear except for that Regina system. I have idea about them much except when they get a crappy connection somewhere it’s a challenge to find.
It sounds like the mechanics worked the car it over pretty good.
Between the timing belt being off two teeth but it having great compression might still be possible.
How distributor being off 180 degrees doesn’t seem to be correct.
As the wires on the distributor would still have to follow the firing order from where ever the number one cylinder was in the rotation.
Crossing over or off one cylinder by 90 degrees would have to be terribly rough if it would run?
Two teeth would be very noticeable in power loss.

As far as the hesitation on acceleration I want to point at the fuel pressure regulator in most cases especially if it anywhere near original.
The FPR dumps excess fuel back to the gas tank.
That orange gasoline and rust may be giving you issues from having a purring engine.

Is this a low mileage engine as the compressions have indicated?

The rubber diaphragm maybe stiffer than it should be and not as responsive to the “lack”of vacuum during acceleration. This increases pressure or volume out from the injectors. It job is about controlling the return valve to the tank.
Idling is higher vacuum and pulls the valve open to reduce volume that the engine might need to accelerate.

Are you have trouble with hard to start after sitting overnight or less?

The newer ECUs cover that up with their pre-running of the fuel pumps, prior to cranking.
It only a second or so long.
Listen for it for a first heads up to fuel pumps or loss of rest pressure problems. It supposed to keep the fuel rail filled.

I talked earlier about the AMM and air leaks so it look to me that around there was the biggest problem early on. Exhaust pipes and that itself, is all about air in and air out!

The BOSCH 016 AMMs have been very reliable but it’s not something that I would rule out as a possibility.
You said it sat a lot, so if it could be a wasps nest, go figure?
Make sure the electrical connections to it and the ignition spark relay “behind the battery” on the 240s are an overlooked item.

Good luck with a called-in mechanic it may help. It’s nice to respect those who admit their limitations and do that on your wallet. ????

Phil