Quote: Unplug the coil wire at the distributor, and wedge it somewhere that holds it 1/4" from a ground point. Crank the engine and see what the spark look likes.
Do this again after it dies and make sure the spark looks the same. I wouldn't necessarily trust just a timing light on the coil wire as an indicator of good spark.
You can also disconnect the two pin plug from the ECU to the distributor, then tap the male terminal on the ECU side to ground (morse-code style), and you should get a shower of sparks from the coil wire.
Have you check the reluctor gap recently? I had a new disty I gapped, then over the next week I went from good start to hard start to no start. The gap had opened itself up to ~0.040"+
When you tap the 2 pin pickup connector to ground, should this be without the coil to distributor wire disconnected? I am guessing you are trying to simulate the pickup signal and "trick" the ECU into firing the coil...
I will also check the reluctor gap as you suggested.
