Im a Fuc#ing Thickhead!!

I recently had this '68 Buick Skylark, Buick 350 in it. Previous owner took out points and installed MSD. He spliced power and ground together, creating a dead short. He also managed to run a lead from that dead short to the alternator, frying the voltage reg and one of the diodes. Well, I found out when it wouldn't fire up one night in town. Of course my wife was with me, not impressed. So I cursed the previous owner thinking, "What an idiot!"
I pulled the MSD out and pulled out the distributor to install an HEI. Seemed easier doing it out of the car. Turns out those old Buicks aren't quite like a Mopar... In a Mopar, if you don't seat the distributor far enough the shaft won't lock in and the rotor will spin freely, not allowing the engine to run. However in a Buick, you can seat the distributor and it'll run, but the distributor shaft won't necessarily be seated in the oil pump drive..... See where I'm going with this?
Well it started to make a real loud racket.. CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK.. All through town. Luckily a well educated friend of mine figured it out right away. Caught it just in time, properly seated it and off it went. No more noise, and luckily for me, no engine problems.

D'oh.