99 Civic LX sputters at low RPM’s when warm.

D16Y7 5-speed, misfires with power loss. Throws CEL with codes 71-74 (misfires).

Just bought the car with 120k miles on it. Can’t seem to get any info out of the previous owner.
When cold, the car seems to function normally. Then after about 5 minutes, it will stumble and misfire in low (below 3000) RPMs. In higher RPM’s the problem seems to go away. After a long drive the car becomes almost undriveable. I have to rev the engine to about 3k and feather the clutch to get the car moving. This seems to be a common problem but I have yet to see the common solution.

Compression test:
#1 – 175
#2 – 172
#3 – 185
#4 – 187

Spark plugs:
Electrodes are more white then I would like them to be. (See pic)

California smog test passed, but just barely.
The smog guy said that the ignition timing was too advanced. He adjusted it to the TDC mark using a variable degree timing light set for 14 deg. BTDC. I asked him if I could take a look with his timing light. I set the light to 0 deg and noticed that the engine was slightly out of range based on the timing marks on the flywheel. I didn’t want to argue with him since he was just about to pass my car through the emissions test. Anyway, changing the timing didn’t seem to affect the problem. One thing I noticed is that the distributor was initially set to the factory alignment mark. After he set the timing the mark was misaligned by about 4 mm which seemed like a lot to me. (see pic)

Mechanical timing:
With the pulley TDC mark precisely aligned to the pointers on the belt cover, the cam pulley marks align perfectly with the aluminum surface of the head, NOT WITH THE ARROWS ON THE PLASTIC. However, it seems that if I adjust the timing by a tooth, it will be even more off than it is now. (See pics)

On the web, many suggest that the mechanical timing might be off by a tooth and so I’m hoping that this might be the problem. But, I can’t tell if this is out or not. Help please.