79 f-150 distributor problems

Hi guys and gals, I am new to this forum and posting in general. I have not had much wrench time with fords so this seems like a good place for some advice. I inherited a 79 f-150 with a 400 that needs a little tlc. I decided to start w/a tuneup. Thru a comedy of errors, mostly seized bolts etc. I ended up pulling the distributor while trying to set the timing. I cannot get the distributor to go in the last 1/8 to 1/4" or so. I have rotated the oil pump w/a 5/16 socket while pushing down, I tried to drive it down with a block and hammer. Am I missing a technique or something? Also, I did not see any numbers at the timing tab, is it just set at the tab with the vacuum off? And finally, how in the world do you get on the dist. lock down bolt? Granted mine was somewhat seized in place, but I had to remove the a/c and bracketing to get to it. Is there some other tool I need aside from a dist. wrench? The thing is buried in there. New to the blue oval and could use some insights from some experienced folks.
Thank you for any advise, tbl
I finally got repaired, Thanks for all who checked this out.....

Hey. I am having the same problem with my 78 F-150 with the 400. I have a post on it with some other great advice. I see that you said you got it fixed. Please tell me how you fixed it. I have the same issues you had. 1/8 to 1/4 inch left to go and so on. I have also tried turning the oil pump with a socket. This thing has been giving me trouble for a long time. Please let me know. Thanks.

Hey. I am having the same problem with my 78 F-150 with the 400. I have a post on it with some other great advice. I see that you said you got it fixed. Please tell me how you fixed it. I have the same issues you had. 1/8 to 1/4 inch left to go and so on. I have also tried turning the oil pump with a socket. This thing has been giving me trouble for a long time. Please let me know. Thanks.

Hi musdslinger, I am used to sbc mostly so things line up differently. I found that I had to use a normal 5/16 socket. My deepwell did not allow me to push down on the pump shaft. Some times even with my normal socket the shaft would stick and pull up some, try and keep it bottomed when you remove the socket. I finally put my ratchet on the extension bar so I could see how far I was moving the pump shaft each time and made a small turn and tried the distributor again until the flats lined up and it dropped. When it is lined up correctly it will go in with ease. Ease the dist. out each time and put it in the same way each time as it is easy to get tooth off the cam gear and then you get to do it again. I timed it to 10 with out the vacuum adv. and so far it is all good. I am out of reflective tape for the timing marks so I used a little nickel anti-seize, fyi, that worked pretty well. Good luck, tbl