Awhile back I was having issues with the car and installed a fuel pressure gauge and regulator.

Fuel pressure should remain fairly constant at all times. If your gauge is showing that it's dropping to 0 at times, then there is a problem somewhere, possibly the gauge itself.
A carburetted engine doesn't use a constant flow of fuel(thru the fuel line), like an injected engine does, so the fuel requirement at idle should be very small...once the fuel bowl is full, the pressure should remain stable, until the float level drops enough to allow more fuel into the bowl, at which time you might see a small drop in pressure for a second or so.

Is your gauge before, or after the regulator?(I know...it's a silly question, but....ya never know...)

Electric, or mechanical fuel pump?

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Joel Adams
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I have a similar problem with my wifes car. We have an Edelbrock carb, intake, and electric fuel pump on the car. The pump is the electric for craburated applications, and will deliver about 9-10 psi of pressure to the carb.  I have the on board pump reg set at 3-4 psi, because the floats and seats could not handle the pressure otherwise. Our pressure gauge also does not always read a constant pressure. The problem with us occurs when you want power and bring the RPMs up quickly, because the pump is set low, there is really not enough pressure and flow to keep up with demand, especially in the 1/4 mile. My fix for this, and something you may want to consider, is to put a good high mechanical pump on the car so it can change flow and pressure based on the demand of the engine. I will use the electric pump for cold starts, etc. Just a thought.

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thanks for the replies, Joel, the new gauge is threaded into the new regulator and I have a stock mechanical fuel pump.