Wits End With A 318

Try this, pull the #1 spark plug out of the block and then crank the engine over by clicking the key and "bumping" it Hold your finger over the spark plug hole while having someone else bump the engine over. As soon as you feel the engine push your finger up from the hole you should be at top dead center on the compression stroke. Then do not turn it over any further. Remove the distributor cap and peek under the cap and see where the rotor is pointing in relation to the wires on the cap. The rotor should be pointing at the plug wire that leads to the #1 cylinder. if your rotor is not pointing to the # 1 plug wire you need to check to see if either the rotor is advanced 180 degrees out or if the wiring is wrong where the wires plug up to the cap. Hope this helps and Merry Christmas!!!

x2 ,that's how I set my engines to TDC also