this makes no sense/ car wont start

Turn the crank clockwise until the timing marks on the balancer are lined up at TDC. Remove dist. cap so you can see the rotor then "very slowly" turn the crank CCW until you see the rotor move. If the crank turns more than 10 degrees then your timing chain has got a pile of slop in it and it's jumped 2 or more teeth on the cam sprocket.