Well, thanks to all - this site was a big help! The ignition system was really in tough shape - bad wires (resistance inconsistent among plug wires, wrong condenser, worn rotor button, corroded distributor cap). I replaced all these items including the spark plugs. Set dwell at 28 degrees. Would not start at first - so I carefully found the little ball on the flywheel (seemed to be in sync with what the valves were doing), painted that thing with white out, static timed it using my multimeter to have the points just open, double checked the wires, then it fired up right away! I then used my timing light to make finer adjustments, but it was really close to the ball. Now will advance and retard as needed when driving. Onto other (and numerous) tasks... this truck looks OK from afar, but has had some neglect.
