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This would be a good time to invest in a shop manual. Odds are your engine has a Load-O-Matic distributor. They work fine when everything is working but can be very confusing to anyone who is new to them. As far as a points ignition goes, points are no more or less reliable in a wet climate. The biggest problem with points these days is chineseium parts.
That's a good call, Crop. Where's the best place to buy an accurate shop manual? I see stuff on Ebay and Amazon, but figure you guys might know of a more "local" style shop that I can get one from.
The best prices are most likely on e-bay. You can find originals, reprints and get it on a CD. The CD's are usually the cheapest. I prefer printed books because you can find stuff faster and carry it to whatever you are working on. Here is a reprint at a pretty good price. 1964 Ford Truck Shop Manual 100-350 Series | eBay
The best thing I did to my 64 was a front disc brake conversion. Now it stops very nicely. Also be aware that the heater core is unobtainable. There's a guy on eBay that sells a modern core that he fabricated to fit our trucks. It works very well.