Thanks for telling me what I wanted to hear. The rebuilt 318 runs great without it. Hell, even the original 318 (which probably did have the cam and the distributor that were made to run it) ran fine without it.
As for the wires -- I agree it would be better to leave them than clip them. But I'll have to look closer -- If I can get them cleanly out of there without disturbing other things, that's what I'm going to do.
Now to figure out what that loose switched power coming out of the bulkhead should go to......
