We put an 87 22RE into my 85 this summer. The engine sounds fine, except it needs to be timed, at idle I can hear it miss a little.

heres the big problem though:

Especially in first gear, but it will do it in any gear, When I give the engine gas and try to take off, it acts like it wants to die. The check engine light flashes then goes off, then flashes and goes off. While it flashes the engine is kind of surging too. I hope it makes sense. The problem is less prominent when the engine is warmed up. Sometimes the CEL will flash when I hit a bump with my foot on the gas.

I've been trying to think about what could cause this and I'm thinking

Timing,
a loose connection to something semi important.
Throttle position sensor?

Anyone got any suggestions?

 

Well it could be any of the things you describe except the TPS usually will not cause this symptom. A few other things are make sure the cold start injector is not on (just pull the connector off and see if that helps). Also your AFM (air flow meter) might not be operating properly. Check the engine light code and it will give you some direction.

Also make sure the group of red ground wires by the intake manifold are grounded. They are right where the 2 manifolds come together. there are 3 of them on one steel loop.

 

if the CEL is lighting up, try pulling the trouble codes and see what the ECU reports.
also, check that none of the wiring is shorting out and that all the grounds are connected securely, in particular the one from the rear of the head to the firewall and the one at the front of the engine. verify that the wiring from the distributor to the ignitor and the wiring around the ignitor connector(s) are tight.

did you just swap the just block and head over?