QG18DE Harmonic Balancer timing notches. HELP!

[natepeet]

I have a 2006 nissan sentra with the qg18de engine. Recently the belts broke, (I bought it from a family member and trusted them when they said it has regular maintenance) and while replacing them I noticed there was timing notches on the harmonic balancer, and the the water pump pully. And now my car has timing issues. The car sputters while idling for about three seconds, then the rpms raise to about 1500 then evens out at a healthy idle (750 rpm) for a few minutes before it does the cycle all over again. Plus it has very very poor acceleration. What could possibly be going on, and are those notches supposed to be aligned?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

You should be able to check ignition timing with a timing light... there is a link to the factory service manuals in my signature... you should look into that.
Are you sure your ignition timing is off? It shouldn't change just from changing out the belts.