Ok... thanks for your thoughts... new distributor should be here tomorrow. I'll pull plugs at the same time I swap that out and post some pictures if my phone cooperates.....

It's interesting the knowledge that your background has given you. Oddly enough my former marine mechanic (a friend that recently moved out of state) was the chief engineer on the USS John F Kennedy before he retired. His experience with "tiny" boats was limited to those in his support fleet but he was always impressed and delighted when I would call him up to come troubleshoot something for me. Last year he diagnosed a leaky transmission cooler and then told me he'd only worked on coolers about 10xs that size!