Hi Roger,
Don't feel lonesome man. I went through a similar experience with mine after the vacuum advance quit. I hope you got the MSD distributor. That's quality stuff.
The hard part is the get the slotted shaft that drives the
oil pump aligned right. It took me days to get it right. My engine is so far back that the distributor sits under the body of the car. It's a major pain to work it out of the hole.
The installation instructions found here should help:
http://www.msdignition.com/pdf/85551...8547_dists.pdf
Good Luck!
Paul