mark #1 on the dist cap. then mark it on the lower cap so when you take the top off you can see where the rotor should be pointin when its sposed to b at TDC. put the balancer at TDC. n if the rotors pointin at #1 ur good. if not then... reseat ur dist cap n everything so it is. then try setting ur timing and see if this has helper ur timing trouble.
Pull spark plug #1. Put your finger over the plug hole. Rotate motor until you can feel the air on your finger. In fact you will here the air getting louder and louder as you rotate it out of that hole. Now you can install the dizzy the correct way.
Once you figure when the compression stroke happens on #1 with the rotor pointing to #1 in the Dist cap with the method as mentioned above - get yourself a piston stop - I think at Jegs/Summit they are like $10 or so. Back off the engine a bit. Screw it in the #1 plug hole, then slowly rotate the engine the same way you were doing it until the piston hits the stop. Note where this is on the balancer. Then rotate the engine in the opposite direction (slowly) until you hit the stop again. Note where this happens on the balancer. The exact middle of the two marks should be 0* TDC or your balancer is whacked.
Yeah I do the put your finger in the hole and feel it with the pencil method. But the easiest way to do it is to mark the crank key position on the solid part of the balancer when you install the balancer. Then you know exactly where it is without having to do anything else other than point the key mark straight up.