[CRnotVtec]

Time everything up so the the "UP" marks are correct and the crankshaft mark matches the notch in the shield. Looking at the face of the cam gears (on the teeth), you should see a small little indent on both gears that absolutely needs to line up in a horizontal position.

If it's timed correctly, that small indent on the intake cam will be at the 9 o'clock position and on the exhaust cam at the 3 o'clock position making a solid line across the two cam gears. You may have to clean the faces as it can be hard to see sometimes. After you have it lined up, check the crank to make sure it's also in place.

Since you did the belt, I would check the valve lash as well. Could be the result of the rough running problem. If the engine was out of time, (one/two teeth) it would run smooth just lack power.

 

[CRnotVtec]

Looking like a new head. Damn. Does anyone know if the head bolts can be re-used (I'm reading that B engines did not use torque to yield /stretch bolts.)

Still not that big a deal. These heads are fairly easy to remove. You can re-use the bolts as long as the engine didn't overheat, which would stretch the bolts.

Something else to aid your search, B18B heads are identical to the 97-01 CRV, excluding the cams. Although you can use the B18B cams, just have to adjust the valves to spec.