North side (Cubs fan). Was born in Evanston and lived in Morton Grove and Des Plaines. Also lived in Chicago proper around Clark & Chase.
Engine ground is tight right? I know it sounds simple, but I've seen crazier stuff. It's hard to believe that the wires would be causing this problem. Some high perf wires have as little as 50 ohms per foot.
Double check your firing order and the direction of rotor raotation. Make sure you're on the compression stroke of the # 1 cyl. Check and make sure that the rotor is pointing at the # 1 plug wire at 10 degrees BTDC.