I recently got a 71 chevelle i got it cheap and the body is great it was an original 350 automatic car with ac and power steering but in the past someone put a 307 with a 3spd manual and did not do a great job problem 1 the running lights dont work neither do the gauge lights or dome light and its not the bulbs i checked this happened after battery was put on a charger
problem 2 the engine never ran well when i got it it would stall when you came to a stop then start up with no problem so i replaced the carb and 1 vacume line it ran great for about a mile then it didnt have enough power to make it up my steep drive way now car cranks at full throttle make loud squeling noise and never gets over a little over idle and dies after 5 seconds could it be a bad intake manifold gasket leak
ps i do plan to put a 350 and an auto back into it but dont have the money yet so if you have any advice for the right parts that would help a lot.

1 you check with a meter to see if the power is getting to and trough the fuse? switch?

2 you check to see if fuel is being pumped up to the carb, check to see what the cap and rotor looks like? does it have points or the hei style dist?

It has points and yes it is getting gas to the carb

the points have to be cleaned all the time and the gap set, thats why most people just throw in a electronic hei. the nice thing about chevy is the interchange, anything you get as long as its a chevy 307 will work for the 350.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-850001r

Could well be a bad intake leak. Easy replacement on a 307/early 350. Most often caused by incorrect crankcase venting. PCV should plug into one valve cover or screw into oil fill tube. Other valve cover should be vented to the air cleaner with a fiber filter inside the air cleaner housing.

Also be sure to check that the PCV hose isn't cracked and that the ends fit tight on their connections. A cracked PCV hose can create a huge vacuum leak.

Don`t over look the filter in the carb.where the line connects to the carb.