Thanks everyone for the help. I got her going tonight and she runs great now; better than ever.
@FDBDW, Yeah I did run the switched 12V wire.
@John, thanks for clarifying. I knew I had a distributor installation issue, but I was wondering if I also had another unrelated issue that was causing the engine to turn slowly for the first few revolutions. That was what I was hypothesizing about when I asked if the cylinder could be firing on the upstroke rather than TDC or just before TDC like it is supposed to, causing the engine to fight the starter. That must have been the issue because when I unplugged the power to the distributor the engine turned over at normal cranking speed.
Anyway, I pulled the distributor out and bumped the engine over until it landed on 8 BTDC then dropped the dist. in and lined it up with a plug wire and I was 180 off, so I switched it and it fired right up. I forgot to tighten the distributor all the way before I took it for a spin around the block and the timing went out a little so I bought a timing light and got it back on track.
Final question I guess: is there some way to adjust the vacuum advance? The initial timing is good but when I hook the vacuum line up it idles a lot higher and pings a little when I give it gas. I know the original vacuum advance that came with the dist. was adjustable, but broken. Should I try to fix it or is there another way?
Thanks for the moral support that got me through this hard time of being without my truck.
