If you fitted the intake, heated the engine up by running it, and then removed the intake from your cylinder, then the card gasket usually needs to be replaced before you refit the intake. I would use some nice high cotton content premium art card, photo mounting card etc, rather than cereal box if possible. The cereal box is supposed to be pretty good though.
Make sure both mating surfaces are clean and very flat. Wipe a very thin layer of oil onto the mating surfaces (not gasket) before bolting down with the card gasket between. This way the gasket gets surface oiled only as it is being closed tightly so it doesn't swell up.
The boost bottle is something that doesnt convince me at all. I happen to think most of those reporting an improvement are using the stock carb and jet, so the snall vacuum leak is just helping correct their rich condition that should have been corrected by changing to a slightly smaller jet.
I would rather seal up the hole somehow, clamp a piece of silicone over the intake with a hose clamp, and just run it as a normal intake with no nipple for a boost bottle, because I don't believe the boost bottles really help any.
Yes everythjng that looks like it will add turbulence really will, lol, but it is already a problem with the offset intake having the Z bend instead of smooth curves, so that a few protruding threads are maybe not the biggest issue for flow dynamics!
All just imho of course and depending just how much the threads are protruding into the intake.