273 will not start?? need help!

When you installed the oil pump drive shaft were the timing marks on dot to dot? If so, was the slot in the gear straight front to back? If that is all correct and you dropped the dist in while the timing marks were set dot to dot then the rotor should be facing the firewall. When I disassembled the 318 that is now in the Valiant I left the dist in and pulled of the front cover to see where the timing gears were. The Ford SB is the only engine I know (there maybe others) of that the dist rotor points to #1 when the gears are dot to dot. SBC and Mopars point 180 degrees from #1