225 charging problem

We took my '63 Valiant wagon to Carlisle from Philly, and had a great time! The car ran great, although we had to run the wipers a fair amount of the time coming home... At the first red light off of the Turnpike followed by 476, the car stalled - just blocks from home. The engine would not turn over; the battery was dead. My buddies in my '59 Sport Fury ran to my house, pulled the battery and brought it back in my daily driver. It started right up, and we made the last few blocks home. *Whew!* It was otherwise uneventful.

I pulled the alternator and took it to AutoZone, but the conclusion was that it was fine. The battery was four years old - so I replaced it, since I expect if it wasn't already bad, it soon might be. However...

The battery measures 12.7 volts with the ignition off. If I start it, it drops to 12.4 - it should go up a bit, correct? I'm concerned I haven't eliminated the problem.

What's my next step? Is there a way to test the (digital) VR? Should I run a separate wire from the alternator to the VR to rule out wiring? It looks like they rewired the engine compartment when they rebuilt the engine...

adTHANKSvance,
Dan