Great responses! I have learned a lot more about timing than I expected too.
Basically, I have learned that it is not uncommon or really wrong to see such high numbers on a vacuum assisted configuration. I did test the distributor and found it finiky, sometimes releasing the extra vacuum and sometimes not.
Bottom line is that I will replace out the vacuum assisted advance for a pure mechanical one.
The best reading that I found so far came from an unknown source which I posted at the following address:
http://www.nekoweb.com/demo/timing.htm . Good reading and thanks for all of the help!