Ok guys, I think I've narrowed my burning rich problem down to some weak spark after it comes from the distributor.
Pretty much the only things that aren't new, adjusted or cleaned on this engine are the cap and rotor, distributor, cat. converter, egr system, crank, rods, pistons, flywheel, intake and exhaust.
Timing is dead on, tps adjusted, iac cleaned, no codes.

Well, I'm burning on the rich side, and I think I've narrowed it down to the ditributor or cap and rotor since I've had the same problem through three coils (stupid me) The spark tester says orange which I know is bad. I'm thinking that I'm gonna need to rebuild/replace the distributor since it sat, unused for 8 months to a year in the block that I'm using. Does this sound like a plan...or could there be something I'm missing.

 

Cap & rotor are cheap, easy and quick to replace. My car had been sitting for a while when I bought it and it ran like crap until I changed the cap & rotor. Cap was green and the contact in the center was pitted. Changed the coil too.

 

Could the module have something to do with it....I'm not completely sure what it does.

 

I had a K-10 pickup that would fry modules often- it would just stop running. But that machine was really hacked up. I think a module either works or doesn't. Cheapest bet is cap & rotor, make sure all wires are plugged in tight.

 

Ditto that...caps and rotors are nothing.... Are you putting on aftermarket or factory coils? I ASSUME aftermarket coils will light up brighter/whiter than OEM-type, but then I could be wrong.

 

I have a msd coil, and I would hope it burns whiter, but don't try to find out with a spark plug tester stright off the coil. It doesn't work, and don't try to touch it either....it hurts and tingles at the same time
I'm just getting a new distributor, everything that could possibly be corroded/discolored is.

 

Aftermarket coils will be hotter (more power), but don't expect their advertised voltage all the time. Say a coil says "45,000 volts!" on it- that 45,000 volts goes down as coil saturation time decreases- that happens at higher rpm's. The coil doesn't have enough time to build up a full 45,000 volt charge, so you'd get less volts at, say, 5000 RPM then you would at 2000 RPM. But overall, an aftermarket coil will give more voltage then a stock coil if both operated at the same rpm (5000 rpm aftermarket vs 5000 rpm stock, 2000 rpm aftermarket vs 2000 rpm stock).

The spark module is the connection between the pick-up coil, computer, and spark coil.

The distributor shaft has a set of magnets on top- 6 of 'em. The distributor body has 6 "pole pieces" sticking up out of it- they look like fingers. As the shaft rotates, the 6 magnets constantly line up with the 6 fingers- and move away - and line up again - and move away - and line up again - and etc.

The pick-up coil "picks up" the magnetic pulse "felt" by the "fingers".

The module listens for this; it knows when to tell the computer to fire by the pick-up coil.

The computer, as you know, runs the Electronic Spark Timing, and can advance/retard the spark as it sees fit. This is done through the 4-pin connector on the outside of the distributor module. When the computer kicks the signal back to the module that "okay, we're ready to fire", the module sends the signal back to the spark coil.

This is done through the 2-pin connector on the outside of the spark module. This connector goes right to the black connector on the coil. The way the coil fires is when the circuit "opens". When the coil isn't firing, it's being charged (dwell time of the old points distributors- I'm referring to it here as coil saturation) with a constant +12 volts. The second that +12 volts is taken away, you get a spark out of the coil.

Hope that helps the explanation of what a module does... keep in mind if the pickup coil is shot, or the air gap between the reluctor and pole pieces is too wide (therefore lessening the magnetic pulse), the spark can also become erratic.

What looks like scary corrosion under that distributor cap might not be- as long as the magnetic pulse is strong between the pole pieces and magnetic reluctor, rust on the sides of the pole pieces doesn't matter- those don't conduct any electricity. In fact when I used to tell people how to rebuild their distributors, I'd say that first, when the distributor is out, spin the gear on the shaft- it usually spins very freely. After you adjust the pole pieces to be an even- and close- distance to the reluctor (using a valve feeler gauge for precision), then spin the distributor gear again. If your distributor was outta whack to begin with, after adjusting that air gap to be smaller again, instead of a freely-spinning distributor, you'll actually feel the magnetic pulses as you spin the gear. The distributor won't want to spin on it's own, the magnetic force will be so strong.