I searched the archives and even search the web but I cant seem to find a definitive answer. I have a stud welder gun which I use to plug up holes and do some tacking with. My concern is with the potential damage that this might cause to my ignition module.

I did disconnect the harness clip that goes from the snout of the cap down into the distributor, but I left the 12V wire from my switched source and the tach lead connected. I'm not familiar with how those terminals inside the snout of the cap are configured.
By disconnecting what I had already disconnected should safeguard the module, correct?

I'm a little concerned because I took her out today and she stuttered once. It could have just been something else, but it had never done that before.

I finally found something online that confirmed what I thought to be the case..it is the lead that goes to the module that I had already disconnected.

Now the question is, could I have damaged the coil? I'll definitely disconnect the source wire next time, but I find it hard to believe that it would damage the coil.

Needless to say, this is the first GM style HEI I've ever worked with.

i doubt if it will get hurt at all- unless you clip the ground wire directly to the distributor.
probably millions of HEI equipped cars have been mig welded on for one reason or another without any damage.
hell ,we even welded up the Flowmaster exhaust on a friend's 95 Z28 without unhooking the computer or battery and it still ran after that.

I just do not see that happening (damaging the coil). For that to happen it would have to be a fairly high power surge and it would have to be sustained for some time...so I think I should be ok.

I once experimented by bypassing my ballast resistors on the bike I once owned (RD400) and the result of that was tremendous. It ran much smoother and the front end would come up unintentionally. A very normal roll of the throttle would have the front wheel up in the air so effortlessly.
It did however fry the ignition coils within a couple of hours of riding. The coils would fracture and the resin inside would seep out.
I never did get around to finding a resistor with a lower resistance of maybe 40 to 60 ohms. I usually used a popular GM resistor rated at around 90 ohms, if I remember correctly.

There is the possibility of water in my fuel system which could explain the stutter. That was one of the thoughts that ran through my head at the time. I am running near the bottom of the gas tank right now, and I have noticed a very unusual blurred effect in my glass fuel filter. Its usually crystal clear. This would indicate to me that I may indeed have some water in that tank...or some really bad gas.

I thought I would do a follow up to benefit the archives, as there is very little information on this here (amazingly).

I am still experiencing an off idle stumble every now and then, which recovers by trying to rev the engine slightly.
It turns out that the negative battery cable must also be removed. Apparently, because the distributor is grounded to the block, the module is very susceptible damage caused by this power surge. I got this information direct from DUI.

The odd thing is, I have always read that when these modules go out, they go out altogather. This doesnt appear to be the case.