Engine trouble - sputtering, uneven idle

[JoaJacks]

Hello, all! I am a proud owner of a 1971 Type 2 Volkswagen bus. Sadly, it has started to develop some problems. I can usually get it to start, but the idle is very choppy. When I start to accelerate, it doesn't seem like it wants to go and will "surge" and "chug." It will not function above second gear. My father suggested that it was a loose connection with the distributor, but after fixing that the problem continued. I'm really new to self-repairs (My father usually took care of all the maintenance in the past, but I've since moved from home and need to "learn the ropes," so to speak), so please be as specific as you can. Any and all help is so greatly appreciated. I'm thinking it could be a vacuum hose? Thank  you all in advance!

[TexasAirCooler]

Check your vacuum hoses for cracks. If your motor has the red rubber boots on each side of the intake, check them.
Your plug wires maybe crossed up, or not making good connection. Do you know the firing order and piston cylinder location?

What do you have for tools.
Have you a VW repair manual?


Here are some help sites:
Rob and Dave's Aircooled Volkswagen Pages - http://www.vw-resource.com/index.html

Richard Atwell's VW Bus Pages - http://www.ratwell.com/

If you can, these are good to have.
Bug Me Video's Instructional Maintenance Series... http://www.bugmevideo.com/