Toyota Repair: 85 Corolla Carb problem?, vacuum switches, vacuum lines

Question
Mr. Ritter-  I have a '85 Corolla AT with 120,000 miles on it.  Recently the motor has lost it's ability to accelerate at a normal rate.  When gas is applied it can take several seconds to bring the rpm's up.  Sometimes even longer when there is a load (in drive.)  I replaced the fuel filter, fuel pump, distributor cap and rotor, plugs and wires, and several of the vacuum lines between the carb, vacuum switches, and distributor.  (I ran out of replacement lines before I could change them all.)  I found the EGR valve to be full of soot so I cleaned it out and made sure the diaphragm is operating correctly.  The only change is that cold starting has become more difficult.  While the engine is cold, it acts as if it is missing and the accelerator has to be floored just to keep it running until it warms up.  Then it will idle fine and run smooth at all rpm's....just very slow/poor accelerator response.  I hear a rumor about a common carb problem with the mid 80's Corolla's, do you know of any such problem?  I can't find any info and I don't know what to look at/replace next.  Any help would be greatly appreciated by my mother (her car) and myself (her mechanic.)  Thank you.

-Eric Hanson

Answer
A couple of things could be causing the problem, the engine timing may be off(retarded)make sure it is set to about ten degrees advanced, if you have trouble getting the engine timing correct there may be a problem with the timing belt and it may need to be replaced.
Make sure the choke plate is closed when the engine is cold, remove the top of the air cleaner, step on the accelerator fully one time, the choke should be almost closed all the way, there is a possibility but likely that the catalityc converter may have disintegrated and is causing an exhaust restriction, try disconnecting the converter and see if the power of the engine is normal.