sounds like bad connections at or around the PIP. regardless of where the distributor is, the coil will still send spark to it, as long as the electronics are in-tact. the fact that you moved the distributor, and it worked, is more of an indicator that you have loose wiring related to it than the position of the dist itself.

like i said, if you dont have spark at the coil, it has nothin to do with the dist positoin.