Bryan,
I think the timing light idea is the answer to your intermittent flash that you are seeing. If you actually have an ignition problem, you should hear/feel a misfire each time the timing light 'misfires.'
I don't have the OEM specifications for your coil, although I can find them, but primary resistance is typically around 1.5 ohms between the two primary terminals; secondary resistance typically is in the range of 7000-10000 ohms, between either primary terminal and the center terminal. Secondary resistance varies quite a bit, but a typical standard D-R coil runs around 8500 ohms. There should be infinite resistance from any terminal to the coil case when measured with the ohmmeter set to the highest range. If the coil is actually at fault, you should have irregular misfires during acceleration. Without that, I would not replace the coil at this time. Original Delco-Remy coils are oil-filled and are pretty reliable, and if there is no evidence of oil leakage, I would keep the coil for now.
Delco-Remy made coils for a variety of applications, so if the resistances are outside the typical ranges, you may have a good coil from another application, so don't throw it away if you replace it. They made one for a limited application that uses a secondary connection to the case and with no connection between primary and secondary windings (not an HEI application). I doubt that you have one of those; it would burn your points up if you use it- it has about 1 ohm of primary resistance, around 10K ohms for secondary resistance and the originals were bright red in color.
Harvester
