>When it blew my finger back I looked at the rotor and it was just before the #1 wire <
Before you look at the rotor, look at the timing mark. You said it's a rebuilt engine, so you know the balancer is good and the timing mark is correct. Right? You are on the compression stroke so the timing mark should be real close to TDC. Turn the crank by hand so that it is sitting on about six degrees. The rotor should now be pointing to the #1 post. Pull the #1 plug wire off and put an old plug on the wire. Turn the key to "ON". Rock the distributor back and forth until you see the plug fire and try to stop at that spot. Replace plug wire. Snug distributor. Start engine.
Run for 20 minutes at 1500 to break in cam. Refill radiator as it heats up. Drop to idle, set timing with light, adj carb idle mix and idle speed. Recheck timing and go for a drive.
