[Chevy3+3]

Some may not believe me at all but I had the exact same issue your having.....I think. Here is what happened to me.

I drove my perfectly running '88 V30 454 into my garage to start my transmission swap. While it was down I decided to swap intakes because I thought my original high mileage gaskets were leaking. I pulled the harness out of the way, pulled distributer, removed old intake and then reinstalled everything just as it was taken apart. Next step was to start it up and a NO GO! I checked things over several times and could not figure out anything. My injectors were pulsing fuel when I was cranking but my truck was dead in the water. I triple checked making sure that I didn't stab the distributor back wrong. My truck would not try and start at all. I was pulling my hair out because I drove it into the garage before I tore it apart. Turns out I wasn't getting fire/consistent fire.

I spoke with a good mechanic who I trust and told him my symptoms and he said replace the distributer. I was confused and asked why. He said he has seen in the passed that when a worn distributer is removed that the tolerances change between the pickup coil and magnetic reluctor ring causing it to not start. So I went and looked at my distributor and saw where the little triangular shaped cogs on the reluctor ring were making contact when they shouldn't be. They should be very close to touching but if they touch anywhere then it wont allow the truck to start.

So I ran to the parts store (oreilly's) and bought a cheap complete distributor for around $100. It came with everything including a new cap. I stabbed it in and hit the key and the truck fired up and purred like a kitten. I usually would not think taking something apart could cause a part to go bad but when it happened first hand to me I believe it.

So I say to you to inspect your distributor or try another and see what happens because it sounds very similar to what happened to me. Good Luck