Hot Rods From Troubleshooting Wiring to Ignition Hell

Saltflats, what you gave me is the access to knowledge - an education. Very valuable. Now I know what I've got and I'll get rid of it as soon as I can afford a new, standard points distributor and coil. Funny thing is, I've got the wires for a points distributor, bought them back at the beginning of this process when I originally bought a 1970 351W, which I didn't take good care of and it turned into a boat anchor.
And speaking of boat anchors, looks like I'll replace the Holley, too, according to what Rod pointed out. Kinda sets back the timetable a bit but I substitute teach at the local rural school and should be getting my first substantial check in October. That means engine startup might be happening by Thanksgiving.
Rod, the cam is a mildly aggressive R/V cam and my machinist said the compression should be around 9.5 or a little better. I put Edelbrock 1.90 intake aluminum heads and a Performer intake on it, wanting more breathing, more power but pretty close to stock manners. It's a truck. Low-end torque is going to be more useful than soprano-like upper end.

 

Wishing you the very best. I'm in a similar situation. Need to fix an intake and source a carb to get mine back up.
You mi9ght shoot for 12-15 initial to start. With the thing reassembled with points you can turn the key on and rotate the dist (crank at the timing you want) back and forth and pinpoint the spot where the points open and spark at the coil wire happens.