I'm at the point where I need to buy all new ignition/distributor system for my 70 383 project. What do I need as far as ign/dist parts to get this thing started? It looks like HEI is the way to go, but I'm not sure of what all I need to buy and cost.

If you're on a budget and don't mind spending time modifying/rebuilding a distributor, then I recommend getting one from a donor car at the salvage yard. You can add a low resistance bushing, taylor your ignition curve, put on a new gear, new coil, new cap and rotor, etc. That, along with a new module, should suit most high performance needs (street or strip).

If you're on a budget and don't want to spend any time on it and the distributor will be used for the street (daily driven), then I recommend getting a rebuilt GM HEI distributor.

If you're on a budget and don't want to spend any time on it and the distributor will be used for street/strip (high performance), then I recommend getting an aftermarket distributor like those from pertronix.

If you have no budget then the sky's the limit. You can get a MSD distributor (crank driven or cam driven), a rebuilt HEI with all the mods and a MSD ignition control box, a digital timing controller box, etc.

In most cases (probably 99% of the time) a GM HEI with some mods will be fine.