Coil replacement in distributor

My son's 91 Lazer (1.8L engine) won't start - it has no spark, the resistance throught he coil does not meet the specs, so we are trying to put in a new coil. But, I'm having trouble getting to the old coil which is inside the distributor. The screw inside the rotor socket won't turn without stripping. Does this screw operate backwards from normal, or is there another trick to geting to the coil? Thanks in advance for your help.

I'm not a 1.8L guy, but let's see if I can help.

The Distributor cap (sits on top)
http://www.partsamerica.com/product_images/img/sta/wa2127.jpg
This distributor cap has the coil built into it(from my understanding)

Underneath the Distributor cap(ignition coil) sits the Rotor button. These are usually held on by a screw.
http://www.partsamerica.com/product_images/aap/gps/jr109.jpg

Then this is the distributor itself.

http://www.partsamerica.com/product_images/img/a1c/3148444.jpg


Now, In regards to your post, I'm not sure exactly what you're meaning. Please give me some pics or explain a little more what you're meaning.

It's complete thanks to some help from a friend and his mechanic father. You do not have to take the gear off the shaft, in fact it won't easily come off at all. The screw on the top of the shaft turns in the standard direction but is very tight, probably from the rotation of the shaft. It took an expensive flat screw driver that perfectly fit the slot with zero play and a large handle and a lot of muscle to get screw off of the top of the shaft of the distributor and gain access to the coil.