The gear position does not matter. If you can get the timing set, that's all you need.
The only reason (on most engines) that a specific distributor/ gear position is specified is so:
the assembly line folks can "wrench, repeat."
the wires "lay" nice"
the tuneup guys "see" what they expect.
You can actually just shove the gear in any -old- way
drop the distributor in any old way.
Bring up no1 ready to fire, and.....wherever the rotor is pointing, plug the no1 wire into that hole, and it will run JUST fine.
As I said only thing that "can" be wrong is the cam drive, or maybe balancer outer rim slipped an timing marks are wrong, but of course if it slipped IN YOUR CASE this would not have changed the timing.