Big Pop,
I had the exact same symptoms with my 1940 with 216. Basically only ran when trying to start the truck with choke on and starter depressed. Will it stay running if you don't let up on the starter. My problem was two fold. Crap in the gas. Got that cleaned up and it ran a little better but would still die after a few seconds.
I basically replaced everything. Coil, wires, cap, rotor and points. That did the trick. I never figured out what was bad, but something in the ignition was not quite right. I assumed the truck would stay running while the starter was pushed because it was using a different circuit than when the starter is off. I'm not very knowledgable of the electrical circuits in our old trucks. So this was an assumtion.
Try the starter trick. Have you done a good tune up and replaced the points, condensor, etc... ?
Bill Schickling
