Ok, I must confess to my screw ups. 1) I put the distributor button on backwards and tied to force the square old in the round slot, 2) When I pulled the distributor the
oil pump drive came with it causing a (oh noooo!!) moment. I used a straw to put that back without dropping it into the
oil pan. The mechanical advance was not working on the MSD 8594 Distributor thus making timing more difficult. I will have a new distributor tonight. I will drill two holes in the sides of the distributor cap to allow air to get to it hopefully reducing corrosion. Once the timing is set I have seal to replace where the driveshaft goes into the T3550 transmission. Once that is done, I also need to replace valve cover gaskets. That is my list!
Thanks to the most excellent dudes on this site, I may be able to avoid future mistakes. Thanks again folks for all the comments to this student.
Phil