Jon, nothing seemed out of the ordinary on the oil pump when I had it out, and I primed it when I reinstalled it. I checked the oil level before trying to start it-- just below the upper line on the dipstick. The gear on the pump looked serviceable, and the drive gear on the crankshaft is a replacement with a moderately worn set of teeth. Not really all that much to go wrong in that area, I wouldn't think; its pretty simple.

PPM, 180 out came to mind (no patronizing here-- I'm no expert at distributors & timing), but I took my time at static timing, and the distributor will only index the oil pump one way. On my list, though. As for bugs, we don't have mud daubers here (that I've seen), and the truck was running in mid-October, pretty much past when wasps build nests. As for the oil pressure, I have no idea what's going on there, but there was oil in the pump when I removed it, which suggests to me it's working. I've had trouble with these SW gauges not reading at odd times, so maybe that's it.

Kwai, I'm thinking that's the explanation here-- the distributor must be 180 deg out, but like I say, I thought went to great pains to avoid that, reading & rereading the procedure in the TM, and double-checking my work.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Between being dejected at this latest development and the flu, I'm just now getting back to this train wreck. I think I'll take the valve cover off this weekend & check to see that things are okay under there (at the very least to see if my $50 brand-new valve cover gasket is intact).