It's necessary to remove the drive gear, and slip the shaft out of the distributor housing to replace the pickup coil. They don't fail very often, and the cap-mounted ignition coils are very reliable, so it was probably only the module that caused the shutdown. Another chronic problem with HEI distributots is wear on the centrifugal advance parts under the rotor. A little high-temperature wheel bearing grease on the moving parts, particularly the pivot points, will prevent them from rusting and/or wearing out. Glad you're back on the road!
Jerry
