You'll need to swap to a points style distributor to adjust timing that way. The stock distributor adjustment is only used to "sync" it up with the crank position. And spark is computer controlled
I think 99 vortecs used a 0411 ecm. It's pretty easily tuned iirc. Not to question your skillset, but more or a generalization of what I see here and a few other boards. Guys jump in and say they're sick of that computer junk...a week later they're trying to get help tuning a carb. If you're going to have to learn how to tune it either way you go, learn the efi. Tuning carbs sucks, swapping jets, pump cams, idle screws, drilling out plates, realizing you have the wrong size jets and then having to start all over tearing the carb down.
If you know what the engine wants it's just a couple key strokes to make the same changes