I don't have the emissions decal on my 1990 f150 xlt lariat with a 5.0L engine and a friend of mine moved the distributor (for some unknown reason) to replace the thermostat. Now I am sure that the timing should be 10 degrees btdc but does it matter if the transmission is in neutral or park when I set the timing. I have not tried it in neutral, only in park and it still seems to be off. Before you ask , I did remove the spout plug.

 

What gear you are in doesn't matter, leave it in park for safety reasons. Let it warm up enough so it is not fast idling.

What is your timing reading?

 

Are you looking at the right spot to set the timing to ? The point, not the circle.

 

I am setting it to the pointer and not the circle. Also I am letting it warm up to normal operating temperature.
I am no novice at this but when I turn the engine of and restart it, it wants to drag like the timing is off.
If the starter was bad it would do this even when it is cold, and it don't drag if I try restarting it right away, it only happens when I wait a few seconds after stopping the engine.
I am setting the timing to 10 degrees before top dead center as per most 5.0's and I am unplugging the spout before starting engine to perform timing adjustment.
Also it is not running hot, because I just put a new temp sending unit on it and the reading is about the n on normal. T hat is where my 84 f150 ran at when I had it.
I was just wondering about the gear because all of the decals that I have found on the web says to run all tests in neutral with parking brakes on. So maybe tomorrow I will try that and see what results I get, but I'm like you, I don't see why it would matter, Park or neutral.

 

Could be that what with timing chain wear etc. it may like to run a little more advanced. Try bumping it up to about 12 deg BTDC and see if it likes it better.
You can't go too far of course, but we used to set them up by ear a couple of ways; tweak it back and forth until you get your BEST idle or advance it till it starts pinging under load then back it off a little.
Just bumping it up a little (12) might help though.
It's also possible that the hard starting isn't timing at all (coincidences happen). If adjusting timing doesn't help, try a gauge on your fuel pressure, make sure it's not bleeding off into the cylinders through the injectors or fpr. It should hold fuel pressure for a few minutes.

 

A couple things, By instructing you to put it in neutral the directions are good for auto or manual trans. And I agree with Chris about coincidences happening. The hard start when warm could be valves or other issues, not timing related.