Alright... .065 travel at the tip of the rotor for the gear and tang combined. That's 3° of rotor movement, and 6° of crank (timing) movement. That does not account for the timing chain, but there is only a very low chance it could contribute with the loads it is always under by the valvetrain and oil pump drive. I am seeing WAY more than that on the timing light. It would seem that the movement is now limited to the electronic side - either RFI/EMF or the box itself. The Digital 6 is the only common denominator. I cannot say from memory if it was better or worse anywhere along the way, but it was never good. RFI could have always been a factor, since I have always run the distributor lead and the alt charge cable under the manifold near each other, with the exception of the last 6 months, but the problem was still present to the point of searching for a solution and changing out lots of hard parts.

Plan is now to shield the cables from pickup to ECU first and look for an improvement, then swap the box out for my spare digital 6 first, then a regular 6AL. Engine is going to be down until it gets sleeved, so it will be a good moth or two before I can update.

...and yes, cryplydog, I actually am an engineer and machinist. Good call.