Temp gauge climbs to the max as I try starting the car. Car won't run.

Just posting this in case anyone else having the same issue stumbles across this thread. It was the ballast resistor. If you lights are dimming and the battery is draining rapidly while you're giving it gas, then it's likely the ballast resistor. I was stumped until I talked to the car's previous owner and he said it was one of the main reasons why he wired the ballast resistor out of the ignition/charging circuit. I rewired it back in over the summer because I was convinced that that's why it wasn't starting. It turned out THEN that it wasn't starting because the timing was 180 degrees out or slightly off.

So to recap: battery is draining until dead, lights are only going bright when you're pumping the gas pedal and the car dies if you stop pumping the pedal... it's likely the ballast resistor.

And I don't mean to be mean to everyone on here, but it's very aggravating to have to check 15 different things to find a solution when I'm really just looking for someone with case specific experience regarding my specific set of issues. I try to be as descriptive as possible when describing the issues that I post about here, and most people say "ground wire" like there's only one and I know where it is. If you're not being descriptive, then maybe pass on answering. Or if you've never had this issue before, also... maybe go find somewhere else to post your advice.

And also, the distributor I bought came set up and gapped appropriately. I didn't have to adjust anything. It was already at .008.