Have you tested the hall effect pick up in the distributor that won't work? You can swap the pick ups to test them. (it's only 2 screws)

 

got a working timing, with the distributor advanced all the way it still is 10 degrees or so off. how would i go about fixing this issue

 

You need to find top dead center on piston number one. There are two ways to do this, one is fairly accurate, the other exact. One way is use a dial indicator, which fits inside the spark plug hole and has a bar that sticks into the cylender that contacts the piston and on the compression stroke will tell you exactly where top dead center is. That way you can index the distributor right......which it is NOT right now. It SOUNDS like it is a tooth off but it can also be more off than that and might even be 180 degrees out of time. The easy way but not so accurate involves you putting your finger in the number one spark plug hole and feeling the piston come up on TDC by compression. You'll feel the compression start to push your finger out of the whole and when it stops doing that, you are at TDC or close. At which point you can then do the same thing which is put the dizzy back in right. Of course do this with a large breaker bar on the crank instead of trying it with the starter and have the coil wire removed or the truck turned off. I hope someone will come in here and tell this Dodge NooB (ME) if it is like a chev where when at TDC the dizzy rotor points right at the number one sparky hole on the dizzy cap.

 

I will bet the distributor isn't a tooth off.

 

So what do you think it is?

 

He might have started putting the wires on the cap one terminal off but since our distributors don't have gears they can't be put in one tooth off. They are either right or 180 out.

 

i called my friend out on blowing me off(since my truck has been at his house) yesterday and it ended poorly. someone stole my original motor sitting on the side of his house, as well as the injectors and a couple little things i didnt need. i ended up having it towed by AAA to us muffler in lima, they said the timing was damn near right on. they also said the reason it wont run with a load is cuz the vacuum lines were all ****ered up and not where they need to be, so long story short they are redoing the vacuum lines and it will be road ready. i woulda had it towed to my apartment and figured it out here but its frowned upon to work on your vehicle at an apartment complex. plus i need it done by tomorrow night