I went back to square one and removed #1 spark plug. I got close to TDC and took the cap off. It was probably not TDC because the rotor was in the 11:00 position. I continued to click through the starter until I got the rotor at 5:30 position (i.e. pointing at the #1 wire on the cap) and yes, the mark on the balancer was near (but not on) the TDC mark. I loosened the distributor and rotated it to a position that looked to be more in line with the rotor. Essentially, I retarded it. I placed the cap back on, replaced the wires, and it "sputtered." Meaning, it fired but was really weak. More of a burble than a pop. I rotated the distributor counter clockwise (i.e. advancing it) and tried again. This time it burbled a little bit more. I rotated the cap a slight bit more, and was able to get it to fire up. It took about 15 seconds with the starter going and it trying to catch. I ran it at about 2,000 rpm for the first minute to get it going and warm, and watched to make sure the choke was warming up and coming off. I got out the timing light again and checked to adjust the timing again.
Basically, I don't know what happened. I don't know why it wouldn't start, and I don't know if there was any particular thing I did that made it happy again. I'm just glad that it isn't a jumped timing chain. I suspect that possible the timing tab isn't exactly perfect, so there might be a little bit of trial and error there. I think I will continue to tinker with the timing if I encounter this issue again. I would certainly like to get deeper into the starting issues with respect to it being a cold hearted beast. Runs great when warm. Perhaps it's low compression, as I have tinkered with the choke and it now closes properly and I don't think that's the main issue. But perhaps it could be a carb issue considering the usual MO is to spray starting fluid in the carb to get it going.
