[PGSigns]

Pictures of the distributor would be good. Couple of things may have happened. First is I suspect the the distributor was not aligned or setting down far enough into the cam gear. Second there may have been a problem with the new gear. The bumping the engine works fine if you have the distributor stabbed correctly and it is all but about a 1/2" or less from being seated. I drop em in like that all the time. I bump the engine over with a remote starter button while putting a little pressure on the distributor with my hand. Never use the clamp to put pressure on the distributor! Now that you have a bunch of metal parts in the engine that have to come out no matter what you just need to figure out a plan. I would pull it. If you have any plans like a cam swap or other performance improvements now may be the time to do it. I put a comp cam in my L31 and it really works well. I'll get the number off the cam card tonight.
Jimmy