Have you primed the engine by running the oil pump with a drill motor before installing the distributor? If not, you're not ready for the distributor to go in anyway. Drop the pan, check everything for proper fit, and then pressurize the oil system before the distributor goes in the next time.

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!