...took a voltage tester, that kind that has a ground and a light the will light up if voltage is found and checked for voltage at the ignition coil and found none.
What did connect your tester to?
On the + side of the ignition coil, it has two wires, one runs to the tack and the other to the distributor. On the – side it has one wire running from the firewall that I have not been able to trace to its source.
Is the electrical system original? The polarity you describe sounds like a positive ground system, probably six volt. Is that correct?
The distributor side of the coil is always the ground side.
The wire on the other end should go to the ignition post on the ignition switch.
If your truck has been converted to 12-volts there should be an ignition resistor between the coil and the switch, and the fact you don't mention the resistor mounted on the firewall along with the positive ground lead me to believe this one is stock.
Could I run a wire from the + side of the battery to the – side of the coil to see if I get voltage on the + side of the coil and if I do, try starting it.
Don't run a wire from the positive side of your battery to the + terminal on the coil. If your truck is positive ground it won't do anything. If its negative ground you might be causing a short and will burn your points or the wire.
Instead, put your test light across the coil, connect one side to the positive and one to the negative, it should not matter which. Then turn on the ignition and try to start the motor. If the light flashes the primary side of the circuit is working.
If it does not flash, or turn on at all, you'll need to trace that wire back through the firewall to the switch and make sure the wire is complete and then that the switch is okay, and that power is getting to the switch. If it flashes your problems are either not electrical, or at least on the secondary side of the circuit.
