What Mr Marty said, and ffs, if that is an 84 engine, or close, forget about where shaft is for the moment, get to tdc on compression stroke, do NOT move crankshaft, make SURE timing mark on balancer is about 0 if not, double check why.
(use a dist without the vacuum advance, like what it came with oem, no cheapo, not also fits, the right hei without vac adv. providing computer still functioning with No shorts in wires etc.)
Drop dist. in with a drop of oil on O ring and new gasket, make sure rotor points ONLY to #1 cylinder, if it starts to clock to far, pull it back out a little and turn it back a little more (maybe a degree or two for a tooth) so when it settles, it is ONLY pointing to #1 cylinder period.
Do not second guess, overthink, reinvent the wheel, or re f'n wire sh$t...take your time.
Make sure rotor is on correctly too.
When this is done, make sure coil connections are right, make sure wires plugging under dist cap are correct and prongs not bent for missed connections, undercap connections are now closest to drivers fender, not 10-20 degrees off.
Also, lightly finger tighten hold down clamp, crank engine, when even close, if dist is not all the way down, it will suck right down...then you can torque down after timing.
So forget about looking to see where the pump shaft is, or aligning it with dizzy etc...Mr.M, Crazy or 74 said the same stuff, hmm,...we be smokin' same sh$t man.
I am not a Doctor nor play one on TV, use this info at yer own 'fn risk and no 'fn around...
Now for the fun, have your wife read this to you, and my other post too.