ecu not throwing any codes
vacuum leaks checked and found some, fixed them, same thing.
tps yes i have setup following instruction from here, but ill try see again.
how to check timing (dumb question)
alternator yes charging, grounds should be okay, on to block, one to chassis right?
no other electronics connected
another distributor completely? or the cap and rotor?
I would go with changing the whole distributor completely.
Ground wise, yes there are 2 main ones, onto the chassis and onto the gearbox. These do get old and degrade so supplementing this with additional grounds won't hurt.
There is also a main sensor ground on the intake near the idle control valve. It bolts to one of the fixing bolts.
Could be a broken wire in the loom. Have you tried moving parts of the wiring loom about while the car is running to see if it makes it run differently?
To check timing, you link E1 and te1 like when. You do the ECU code check but start the car (when up to temperature)
You set the idle to about 700rpm and then Using a timing light, check the base ignition timing is 10 degrees btdc. You rotate the distributor to get it correct.
Also worth checking the cam timing is correct. There are timing marks for the 2 years that you can only see if you take the cam cover off. Also checking the timing marks line up with the cambelt.
From your explanation I would look at changing the distributor as that sounds more likely from your symptoms. Although the other things I mentioned won't really cost you anything to confirm.