Diagnosing Distributor - No Spark Chase

final update:
project was on hold for a long time due to weather and life. Turns out it WAS the distributor I just screwed something up with the test. Also, right after i installed the new distributor It ran for like ten seconds and then the coil went out so i thought i'd screwed something else up.

Anyway, thanks for the advice everyone, especially Dart273. The photos of the testing with jumper leads really helped and when I did it right it totally worked. Anyway, hope this thread helps someone else. Made my life a lot easier. Thanks!