I had the distributor out yesterday as I replaced the vacuum-advance unit. After re-assembly the idle was rough and there was a loss of power on acceleration.

I had taken a picture of the position of the shaft in relation to the distributor and now I believe I may have reinstalled it 'one tooth off', going clockwise. I also chipped two small pieces off the nylon gear as I was wrestling with the vacuum installation. I've got a replacement gear on order, but my questions are......... is this a timing issue and might this be something that a novice like myself can do? Should I worry about getting the shaft back in the right place or should I just replace the gear and re-time the engine?
I don't have a timing light (yet) and I don't know the degree-of-difficulty in working with it on a slant. Any thoughts, or anything I am missing?


Ahhhhh...... on to page 3 and into oblivion! 100+ views so far and not a single reply. Is it my breath? Political views? Or have I stumped the band. Doesn't matter - I found out my answers on my own, and if you are looking for answers and found this post by way of a search, I am afraid you will have to, too!