which should I do, get that drop in ignitor thing for the stock distributor or try to get a whole one from a newer 5.0? The newer one has a bigger cap ya?
You could either get a module conversion, Duraspark + external control module(Duraspark or GM HEI will work), or a whole aftermarket distributor. Finding a Duraspark with an iron gear would be fairly easy, but there is a little more wiring involved (I needed one with a steel gear and it was a PITA to track down).
take the stock dist that you already have, drop int he pertronix ignitor, and get the larger cap and cap adaptor(they fit ALL ford V8 dists from 59 up), and add a set of 8mm plug wires.
I have the HEI setup from pertronix and it's nice....easy to wire up. The only thing you might notice is the cap is bigger and might get in the way of a few things like your air cleaner if you have a really large one. Well worth the money. I haven't tried the knock-off HEI out there, they may be just as good.