Engine ran for a second, died, now no spark.

[vetnat]

Hi. A little background. 1961 GMC half ton (Canadian, so like a chevy) with a 235 with points. Has been sitting for approx. 25 years, so have been trying to get it to run as a starting point. Actually, not sure if it ran when it was parked? Essentially all serviceable items have been replaced or rebuilt (new oil, new plugs and wires, new coil, new battery, distributor components replaced, new fuel filter, rebuilt carb, etc.)

Has always turned over good. Is getting fuel. Originally had no spark, but turns out previous owner had added a jumper wire that grounded the coil for some reason. Took that wire off, then had spark. Today, got the engine to catch by using starter fluid sprayed into the carb. Yay! After 5 times catching and dying right away, got the engine to run for about a second or so, then it died. Ever since, there is no spark. No spark coming from the coil to distributor wire.

I'm working by myself, so am mostly using a remote starter switch (with key in run position). Turns over fine using the key too. So, how did I suddenly lose spark with the engine running??

A secondary question, where is the ballast resistor wire supposed to be? Pictures any one? Coil is for use with external resistor, not sure if there still is one? How could I test?

Thanks!