The 2.8 distributor does not rotate the opposite way of the 2.9, they both rotate the same way. The difference is in the distributor gear and cam drive gear, they are mirror images of the 2.9 setup, effectively make the reverse-turning cam turn the distributor the right way.
The problem is a TFI cam gear wont go on a duraspark distributor, its too big, and you would also have to change the oil pump driveshaft out because it has a different pattern.
You could fit a 2.9 or 4.0 block with a duraspark oil-pump DS and sleeve the TFI cam gear to get it to work.
Some people have modified a 2.6L intake to fit a 2.9 (even port layout) by altering the water passages, but it wont work on a 4.0 due to the higher deck height.
What it comes down to, and I have expirienced this first hand, is why convert a 2.9 over to carb when you can just modify a 2.8??? Its a waste of time. As far as the 4.0 goes, there just aint enough demand out there for a carb intake for it, and it would be of no benefit to anything, fuel injection is just simply better. EFI is not nearly as complicated as it looks....