Post #12 sentences aren't complete or clear, so hard to follow what you did. "hit coil --" means what? Anyway, if you spark to something, but not to the valve cover, perhaps your engine block isn't connected to BATT-. But, if that was true, the starter wouldn't work. Perhaps your distributor body is not electrically connected to the block.
To test the coil, forget about the distributor & points. Connect a jumper wire to coil-, w/ no other wires connected there,. w/ 12 V still on coil+ (via key switch/ballast or just jumper straight from BATT+). Touch it to the block, then remove. Each time you remove it, you should get a spark on the wire from the top of the coil to the block (over a small gap). Best to use an in-line spark tester ($4 HF). Use a short plug wire you trust, or just clip a test lead w/ alligator clips. Be careful what you touch or the spark may go thru you (at least the sunlight won't matter then to verify spark).
I am guessing you can find many youtube videos showing this. It is basic high school physics.