It sounds like the first guy has damaged his engine by not breaking it in right, to me it sounds like the engine has not got enough compression which would explain the stalling at idle and inconsistency.

The first guys engine probably won't last very long.

Personally I like to go easy for the first few tanks, making sure that the engine gets up to temperature, then shutting it down with the piston at bottom dead centre, once it has cooled I repeat this process for about 5-8 more tanks, gradually leaning it out each tank.

It is a pain in the butt, but the engine will have a better piston/sleeve fit, have better compression and more power and last much longer than running it blubberingly rich and cold during break in.

For smallblock motors I like to run them up to 260-290 during break in. Engine temperature isn't as critical as some make out, but running too cold (200 and below) will wear the engine due to the parts not expanding properly and as a result when the engine is run hotter (where it performs best) the piston/sleeve fit will not be optimum therefore the engine will never reach it's maximum potential and will not last. I have had engines that run best at 340-350! I've also temped engines at upto 420F with no loss of performance after.