[ford38v8]

Absolutely! If you still have the leather, by all means, use it. It'll be stiff, so loosen it up with motor oil. And the power valve.... make sure that the gasket surface is flat to match the mating surface. Machine it flat or use multi gaskets to make the seal. Probably not your issue, but it needs checking anyway.

EDIT: It occurs to me, you have a vacuum port on the EAB that is used for the distributor on the later flatheads. I know nothing about that system, but if not operative, it might be your problem.