Pickup coil in the distributor? Remove the coil wire from the distributor, stick a screwdriver into it and place it near ground. Unplug the 2 pin connector at the distributor and short across the wires (not the wires going into the distributor but the other end of the connector) and you should get a spark from the coil everytime you lift the wires from the connector.. if you do then there's something wrong with the distributor (probably the pickup coil). Hopefully this will help you.
