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Unfortunately, they really should be replaced from underneath....by dropping the pan and pulling/re-installing the oil pump.
You can try a 0.25"(?) hex head socket on an extension, with some Vaseline or berrin goop in it to try and center it. Be very careful not to drop the socket!
It'll dislodge again a few times before you get it to sit in the distributor's slot. Caressing the rotor a little bit while installing often helps.
Wow, so in reading many tech articles in detail, it's becoming quite obvious where my problems lie; like you mentioned - no vacuum advance. Taken from one of the articles I just read, I think this hits the nail on the head:
"What about the Harry high-school non-vacuum advance polished billet "whizbang" distributors you see in the Summit and Jeg's catalogs? They're JUNK on a street-driven car, but some people keep buying them because they're "race car" parts, so they must be "good for my car" - they're NOT. "Race cars" run at wide-open throttle, rich mixture, full load, and high rpm all the time, so they don't need a system (vacuum advance) to deal with the full range of driving conditions encountered in street operation. Anyone driving a street-driven car without manifold-connected vacuum advance is sacrificing idle cooling, throttle response, engine efficiency, and fuel economy, probably because they don't understand what vacuum advance is, how it works, and what it's for - there are lots of long-time experienced "mechanics" who don't understand the principles and operation of vacuum advance either, so they're not alone."
I got my oil pump shaft back in with a grabber thing with the fingers on the end of a cable it took many tries to drop it back in correctly but I did get it
Yessuh, that was a long article and very informative. It leaves the door open to ported vs manifold advance, though. Many a good discussion has been had on that topic.
Yessuh, that was a long article and very informative. It leaves the door open to ported vs manifold advance, though. Many a good discussion has been had on that topic.
I'm glad you read the article.
Running ported or full manifold vacuum is dependent on how the distributor is curved and what carb you are running.
If you are running the stock distributor and carb you run ported vacuum, this is even more important if the vehicle is fitted with AC , still sporting some emission equipment.
What kind of exhaust setup are you running? Without knowing all the details of your combo it looks like that cam has too much duration. Would make it a dog in an automatic, especially in a heavy truck. That cam will want a lot of advance because of the seat to seat duration
The new HEI is installed (the socket trick worked like a charm for the oil pump shaft). Now I have the wiring to figure out. I believe this is what I need to do:
It appears I need the 8861 harness to bypass/remove the module and condenser. I'm struggling to see how this is a 4-pin. I'll have the C-, GND, and B+, and then there is a small connector in front of that with a green and a red wire coming out of it. That is an extra pigtail I added on to my purchase. If that's the 5-pin, the diagram is even more confusing:
Alright, I purchased the MSD 8861 harness and deleted the module and condenser from the new distributor. I picked up a replacement harness to connect my existing wires to the C-, G, B+ pins neatly. It took a little tweaking but she fired and runs pretty good. I just need to dial it in. Right now, I have initial timing set at 14* (vacuum plugged). I started at 10* and she did not want to stay running. When I plug in the vacuum (manifold), I'm up to 39* at idle. I don't have a tach yet but I will get one. The vacuum can is adjustable but I need a little guidance from here.
Until I can get the wife to give me a hand with the throttle, I can't see how high the total timing gets but I imagine it's going to be a little too high.
I also meant to say that the engine still spits and sputters a little at 14* with vacuum disconnected as I play with the timing. This is after I backed down the rpm's at idle. With vacuum connected, it was way too high at idle so I knocked it down to where it sounded about right (I'm guessing 1000-1200).
Agree with DB429CJ on trying ported vacuum. What have you got to lose?
GM style HEI distributors have the vacuum advance spring set for minimal tension...meaning you get the most vacuum signal right from the gate. Comes in at ~ 800 RPM...I think....could be higher, can't remember at the moment.
I moved the vacuum from the manifold to the carburetor. That's now ported, right? The initial timing with it connected dropped to 30*. It spit and sputtered and wanted to die (did once) so I bumped the idle screw a half turn. All seemed well. I revved the motor to see how high the timing would get and was over 40* by the time I got to what I think was about 3000-3500 rpm so I stopped. When it idled down, I was up to 33* at idle consistently. I shut the truck off and had some run on so I knew the throttle plate was too far open.
I turned the throttle screw a half turn (loose), fired it back up, and was at about 31* at idle. I revved her up and again, she went back to a consistent 33* at idle. This time, no run-on when I shut down.
I turned the set screw a 1/4 turn on the vacuum can (loose), and now I'm back at about 30* again at idle.
I believe ideal total timing should be 34-36 under throttle, right? What am I shooting for at idle? It's definitely going to take some tinkering. I'm excited to go for a ride. Thanks guys.
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Many a good discussion has been had on that topic. 
