What would cause engine to jam while cranking??

Ok, I just spoke with Rick at Rick's Mopar, we did some trouble shooting over the phone, I removed the coil wire and cranked the engine over, which took care of that issue,[ engine jam] he feels also that the timing is to far advanced, so he said I should start at the beginning, old school make sure timing marks on engine damper are correct, he reviewed but I got lost, he said to take an old spark plug ,clean it out so you can put a bolt in it to act as a stop, and rotate engine one way till the piston hits the stop and mark the spot on the timing plate and then rotate engine in the other direction till it hits the stop and mark it, some where in between the 2 marks would be TDC, then set to 10deg. before , from that reference point, pull dist, and make sure the dist. drive gear slot in facing the left front head bolt then make sure rotor is pointing to number 1 drop the dist. and wire the spark plug wires correctly he it should run then.

has anyone done this before, looking for some guidance.