Ok, we have the engine turning over finally. but now we have no spark! weve checked the coil, points, etc etc. What else could it be?? broken wire somewhere possibly? its a new distrib. but it can be moved side to side about an 1/8th of an inch. last i checked it shouldnt move that way at all...could this be affecting the dwell?
thanks fellas

Are you positive that its all the way "down"? There should be very little movement possible if its correctly seated on the gasket and the hold down clamp is snug. With the cap off, engine at TDC and rotor pointing at the #1 location, turn the engine and CAFEFULLY push down on the rotor with your hand. This will allow the oil pump shaft to engage the base of the distributor. If you are using points, be sure that the wire from the points to the coil is not on the 'wrong' side of the insulator where it mounts to the points. It should be against the 'spring' that is common to the moving point arm. Common mistake.

ill check it out, thanks man.