Metal shavings in distributor at pickup coil. Car running rough, lights dimming...

supersoap33 said
Is it supposed to go up and down that far or are you saying that this was the reason your dart was misfiring? The rotor has a spot on the top and the cap seems to be fine

That is my theory for my car. That the up and down movement was excessive.

The shaft movement could be see with the dust out of the car at the bushing pinned to the shaft.

supersoap33 said
What you're also saying is that a faulty distributor could lead to a bad charging system, meaning it could affect how the motor spins the alternator and recharges the battery?

Not that the dist and misfiring engine would create a bad charging system but that the engine running slowly would not be charging correctly.

Like if your alt pulley is too large in diameter your idle speed charging will be reduced and can present as dimming headlights