for anyone that is following along....
i got a balast resistor, new and now i get 1.6 ish ohms across the coil-resistor series. it seems the meter is OK and i should be good in that arena.
still no spark when the coil wire is held near the block or other grounded piece of metal.
i'm not sure what to do next, i'll sleep on it for a few days most likely.
