Pissed off with motor, want to change

Mopar to ya said
It is stock electronic ignition as far as I know. Voltage at battery with vehicle off is 12.55v. Voltage at positive post of coil key on engine off is 4.7v. Voltage at positive post of coil key on engine on is 7.2
I have it running, and when I turn the distributor counter clockwise or advanced, it pops louder and more often. When I retard the timing and can actually see the timing marks with my gun, it pops less or almost never until I put a load on the motor. I actually drove it today and it had absolutely no power and began to backfire a lot (after idling with no popping for 5 minutes). My next free time is Sunday and I am going to do a compression check. Can a carb load up and cause exhaust backfiring only?

So there is 4.7V with the key on, but engine not running? And 7.2 with engine running?
It sounds to me that your ignition is the issue. I agree with verifying the grounds are good, both between the box and the cowl, and also from the cowl to the engine. In certain circumstances I will run a ground wire from the case (scratch off the paint if painted) to the rear intake bolt (clear off paint if it has it).
Also, the ballast resistor... As a test, run a jumper wire between the two connectors on the ballast. (assuming this is a 2-post ballast). Then fire it again and see if it still pops. If it doesn't pop you need to shop for a new ballast with a lower ohm rating than the one you have. Do not drive around with the ballast by-passed. Only run for a short time.
Set your base timing to 12° and leave it until you get the popping fixed. Then you can mess with timing.