Bad Distributor? Car not starting.

[taunop]

Hi All,
I got a dead car. Sometimes (one out of 10+ trials) it may start. Once it starts it is pretty smooth sounding noise, you cant tell if anything is wrong with it.

I got it checked for the codes and it was Cylinder 1 misfire. I dont remember the code, but that was it, Cylinder 1 misfire.
I got the spark plugs changed, and the wiring but no improvement. I replaced the distributor rotor and still no improvement.
I tried to see if there was any sparks, by leaving the cable slightly disconnected, but I couldn't tell , by sound of discharge, if there were any sparks at all or not.

The distributor had some oil in the lower part, but just the cover or the sealing rubber.

I am wondering if it is the distributor or something else?
Is there any way to test it before I figure this issue by trial and error (expensive) ? I don't want to do more tune up then necessary. Is distributor failure common in these vehicles?

I saw some distributors for $50ish on ebay (used) would they be ok? Anything else could be causing this issue?


One more thing, I did remove the distributor to inspect it and put it back, but not without moving the rotor and seeing if it was ok. Did I mess anything with the timing?

The battery has plenty of charge and the cranking sound nice.
Nissan Altima 2000.

Thanks in advance.