When I've encountered that nichrome wire on other applications, I've found that it was longer than necessary to reach from the firewall to the coil, and was doubled back inside the harness to provide sufficient wire length to get the proper voltage drop. The fiberglass and/or asbestos braid over the wire is spot on- - - - -same stuff I've found, apparently to avoid heat damage to the other wires in the harness.
A resistor only drops voltage while current is flowing, so if the points are open when a voltage test is made at the coil, the full battery voltage will be measured, all the way to the insulated point. As soon as the points close, then an accurate measurement of voltage drop across the various items in series in the circuit can be made.
Your diagnosis of an unintended parallel circuit with the coil is interesting, and very accurate, I believe!
Jerry
