Oh when I turn the engine by hand I can find the ball just fine (it just doesn't stand out enough when I run the timing light over it). I've gotten the engine set to TDC and put the distributor in according to the instructions here:
https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=632070#Post632070 and it ran fine yesterday morning, after we swapped the plugs out it still ran but it was pretty rough. Now it won't run at all and I can't figure out what changed.
We tried setting the distributor in the right spot (pointing to the #1 cyl wire) and one notch back and one forward, none would work for us, it's not even catching - it just cranks and cranks but nothing beyond a single big pop every once in a while.
