up date. last wekend I finally got a chance to get back to it. I pulled the distributor and took it out in the sunlight so I could get a better look. Found the condenser wire had a small cut in the insulation on the downside against the plate. Bent the rotor contact upwards so it would contact center post in cap better and regapped the points to be sure. don't know which of these solved the problem but it's running fine now. Thanks for all your suggestions