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Grounds are good, battery is good. 12.7 with engine off, 14 running

So, background: 1985 2.8 with duraspark/gm 4 pin conversion. The truck was running great but now... It starts just fine, runs fine for about 15 seconds, and then dies. I hooked up the spark tester and watched it as it dies. Spark starts strong, then gets weaker, then is barely visible, then goes...

Anybody need one? I went to duraspark and now it's just junking up my work bench. I'll send it to you for free.

Looking for a set of 2.8 headers. I'm not picky about the manufacturer. I know these used to be more common, so this may be a fool's errand.

It had good ground, verified with ohmmeter.

With the PerTronix, it's running great. Need to stitch up the exhaust where I pulled the smog pump tubing and get the timing perfect. Very happy with it. I would recommend the swap to anyone. I still don't know why the duraspark module wouldn't work, but I'm not worried about it anymore.

It fired right up with the GM HEI module. I used an old 76 junkyard one just to test before using the real one I bought and didn't heat sink it. It lasted about 3 minutes before it died. Might have just overheated, maybe I burned it up. Either way, step in the right direction and only $10 lost...

Final update for this thread: I checked everything again. I have continuity in my wires from distributor to module. Distributor tests good. Coil tests good. Tried another module with no change. I've ordered a GM 4 pin and I'm going to give it a whirl. I went with a PerTronix just to maybe...

I was putting it between the coil and the distributor cap in-line. It's a plug in, spark plugs wire type

Tried with the wire removed, no change. I also tried getting a new coil since a major parts store was willing to replace it for free also with no change. I checked to make sure my spark tester wasn't defective by putting it in line on another car and the light bulb lit up every time the cylinder...

New discovery: the wire from my coil mount that should be to a radio interference capacitor was just grounded to the chassis. Thanks to previous owner, for this and many other "fixes". I'm going to try replacing this and see if that does anything. Maybe that's why a pulsing ground from the...

Yes. Confirmed with multimeter.

D Is there a way to test the module?

You mean jumping it with a ground wire? I've done that and it does work that way.

Awesome. On a serious note, do you think the magnetic pick-up in the distributor could be faulty but pass the ohmmeter test?

I have checked and rechecked several times. It is wired exactly how the 85 diagram instructs.

I am not using a TFI. I switched to a duraspark II distributor. I checked and have good ground from the black wire from distributor. It does not change as the distributor spins. The duraspark module has good ground. I also re-checked between the orange and purple wires from the distributor and...

I will do that tomorrow and report back. Any idea what's up with the ohmmeter thing I mentioned? Is that a sign of pick-up failure?

I'm using an in-line type so a light bulb between plugs to the coil wire and then to the coil. I tried to use an ohmmeter to test at the distributor between the two non-ground wires but I couldn't get a reading as it jumped all over the place.

Ok, correction to my last post, my spark tester did have a slight light when I grounded the coil negative on the engine block. So could that be something with the distributor? With the module? Is there another test I can do to check?