Testing of parts, that are easy to change and cheap to buy, is a waste of time unless you are as experienced and knowledgeable as Jerry, have all the equipment, time and are able to accurately analyze it. Which no one is/does/can. The ignition system is as simple as it gets and is being made to seem like a nuclear reactor here. Ever heard of a tune up? Plugs, points, wires, condenser, rotor and cap.....and I guess a coil. Insure all proper grounds, If the
timing is correct and you replace those parts and it does not have good spark, you probably live in the Bermuda Triangle. Can't fix that. Gotta move. Also, you absolutely can not trust what someone else has done or what they purchased or how they installed and calibrated it. Even if it's a relative.
Let's don't act like there is anything wrong with copper plug wires on an old truck. All other wires are copper conductor. Don't let Jerry confuse you with facts.
Suppressor wires, if new, should be fine. Copper wires will be fine. There are resistor spark plugs.
The ballast resistor has no polarity.
Be aware, although "kind of start and then die" is not descriptive, it does sound like a fuel problem. Also "Thought it was the carb but everything looked ok" What does that mean? Be sure not to get fixated on the electrical. If it fired, it has spark. There are a few things to check involving fuel supply but you did not mention what "looked ok" means exactly.
I will wait to see if you get good spark. Sometimes good spark it hard to test/see.
Now, with Jerry's ideas in mind. Do yourself and your nephew a favor. Buy another set of good points. Check, before you buy, that the contacts meet concentrically and faces contact on plane. Don't "burnish" them. Don't mess with them. Put them on and set them. We are going around in circles talking about electrical theory on an old truck. Testing a bunch of parameters and values like we are fixing a old IBM super computer. Meanwhile we are "burnishing" new points. Whatever that may mean to you. Anywhere from polishing to filing to sanding. Leave them alone if they are new.
