It's always good to have friends watching you at the starting line that's a big help. Not really sure about the carb problem sounds like it might be a high float level or too high fuel pressure, but you also indicated you might be switching carbs so that might fix itself.
If your only going thru the traps in second gear it definetly needs more gear as a turbo 400 already has a short first gear anyway, so a taller gear would be a big diffrernce but like I said your gonna want a little taller gear than a 411 because if you dont you'll be caught up in a shift just before the finish line which sucks, you wanna be firmly in third before then which is same problem I had in my old nova, it had a t 400 with a 411 gear and I was always shifting just prior to reaching the finish line, I ended up putting a 488 in it and it was almost perfect not to mention it picked up my et's too.
Also I'm a big fan of "most bang for your buck" and nitrous used at lower levels can be a safe and affordable way to make significant gains in et's real quick. You can score a adjustable entry level kit for about 300 to 400 bucks, and with a 125 to 150 horse setting you can expect about a half second gain in your car.
Goodluck, Charles