"SO, in order to get my constant 12v, can I ELIMINATE my ballast resistor, hook both connections together, then use that 12v? It should be constant at this point, because of the elimination of the ballast resistor."
This is what we did on Dad's 69 a few weeks back, same setup. Actually, we ended up putting an inline fuse between the connections as a fail-safe. I can't remember the amperage at the moment. One headsup on the coil install, though. You might have make up some spacers to mount it to the firewall. I'll get pics tomorrow.
Overall, we're pretty pleased with it! Fired right up, and purred like a kitten. We still need to do a little tweaking as the car is a little cold blooded.