while changing my cap and rotor, i ran into a problem. i put the coil over into the new distributor cap and everythign and put it all back together into my car. however, it would start. then when i picked up the old distributer cap, a long winding hook fell out. i don't know where it came from, but its probably the reason it didn't start. where does it go?

 

Is it a flat metal piece? With what looks like an electrical push-on terminal on one end? If so, that's one of your coil primary connections.

 

i figured it out. it goes to the part where teh wire connect to the coil... could it have been a ground of some sort?