The only thing I can think of is that the cap wasn't sitting down nice and square (yes, both times). If the rotor was just down partway, it seems to me the distributor shaft would have just spun inside it, harming nothing. If you carefully examine the inside of the cap, I bet you'll be able to find a tiny mark or two where the rotors contacted it. The position of the distributor sure doesn't help matters.

Ditto on you can't have moved the shaft in a way that would harm anything. The distributor was left bolted down, correct?

And if you're in a jam, just crazy-glue the new rotor back together.

 

Yeah, the disty was still bolted down.
Now that you mention it and I am back to my senses, I remember how you mess up the disty.
What I am going to do, provided I can get over to AZ tomorrow, is get a new cap and rotor (again) and remove all the wires, and just redo the firing order by the manual.
My dad told me to leave the wires on the cap, easier said than done. The last time he worked on a engine with a dist, it wasn't buried under the cowl.

 

While you're at it, make sure the wires are routed according to this TSB:

http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1998/18-48-98/18-48-98-v8.htm

And I bet you the cap is still fine. If all the contacts inside are still perfect and it's not cracked, I'd save the $$.,

 

I think it is too.
If not, it's just gas and my mom's time.
Also, I don't have any cross fire or surging issues.

 

even on the older trucks like mine the rotors can be difficult to push on and i swear it almost feels like i am going to break the rotor while trying to get it on until it just pops into place.

 

I thought I was going to break it too.
But that engine did that for me. lol

 

You will feel a satisfying snap as it goes into place. If you didn't, it didn't.

 

Mine did not have a satisfying snap.
Maybe that's the reason why it was still a pain to align the screws with the holes. lol
Friggen wires were getting in the way.
Hell, the engine was getting in the way!

 

Solution: just pull the motor next time, making it easier on yourself.

 

I swear, for what the dealer charges, that MUST be the way it HAS to be done!