Help me plan: My first intake swap ... EVER.

Johnny Dart said

No need to pull the distributor, but you will have much more room having the distributor,wires, out ofhe way.

Put your motor at tdc (top dead center).
With the cap off, the rotor should be facing the no.1 cylinder.
Unbolt the distributor hold down, and pull out distributor.
Simple stuff.

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Yes, the valve covers will get in the way. I just pull the wires and lay over to the sides and throw some masking tape over terminals, I don't like having an engine open anymore underhood than I have to underhood. You can use pieces of tire weight to do this, but I really recommend this little bit of advice from Hughes engines.
http://www.hughesengines.com/Upload/TechArticles/INTAKE_MANIFOLD_SEALINGJULY2015.pdf
It may save you some serious headaches down the road, you would be surprise at how few intakes really adequately seal on even a stock engine. Small block Mopars are one of the worst for this.