Just read through this thread.

Note... after the engine has run through a heating cycle, warm it up again and check your compression. I bet it goes up substantially.

This is important! If you haven't replaced the balance shaft belt and the timing belt, it would be a good idea. The balance shaft belt frequently fails and can take out the main timing belt. How do you say it?
NO BUENO!!
Too bad you live in Cali... The best way to remedy the carb problems... a Weber conversion. I lived there for 1.5 years and the smog boyz are bastards.

*You have to have zero vacuum leaks. If the leak is big enough, the engine can act like it is skipping and will have a high idle or no idle at all.
*Just for a laugh, check the spark plug porcelains. If one has a crack, it will skip. This is overlooked too many times.
One other I recently encountered...
A friend's shop had done a tune up on a Chevy 4.3. It was skipping afterwards.
I isolated the skip to #6 cylinder - Know what it was?
The tech didn't check the spark plug gap and it was completely closed. Re-set gap, engine ran fine.
Another one - a carbon track or cracked distributor cap.
Maybe a bad plug wire.

I know this stuff may have been mentioned, but it doesn't hurt to check.

Good luck!