Coil voltage

OK, just wondering if I could get some help on this. I did a 440 swap into a 1971 dodge dart swinger that was originally a slant six. I also installed a ready to run electronic distributor in the 440. Anyway, I had problems starting the car after install. It would start, then immediately stall. I could sometimes get it to run, but it would run very rough. And when I tried to put it in gear, it would immediately stall. Anyway, I switched carburetors thinking it was something to do with the carburetor, turns out it was not. Anyway, I ended up running a jumper wire from the battery to the coil, and it runs perfect. Goes into gear no problem, I even drove it around the block a few times and it ran great. I have not checked voltage at the coil yet. (Meter on loan) Will do that in the morning. I did run a jumper wire at the ballast also after the distributor install. Is there any reason I would not be getting 12 V at the coil? Is there anything simple and obvious? Any help would definitely be appreciated. I checked all the wiring and everything seems tight and in good shape.