Yes, I'm sure I got the distributor in correctly. I put it in with the flywheel mark showing, and the distributor orientation close to where I took it out. With my wife working the starter, I timed it at 5 deg BTDC with my dial advance timing light.
Actually, a vacuum leak sounds right to me. This all started with running rough at idle only. I looked for a vacuum leak and could not find one. Then the problem got worse quickly - like within a day. Then it would not start at all. The PO removed the EGR system, and I think I'll take a closer look at what he did to ensure all the vacuum ports in the intake manifold are plugged.
I just wanted to make sure that when you re-installed the distributor you had the engine at TDC firing for Cylinder#1 and not Cylinder#4.The mark on the flywheel will be seen at both these positions.As long as the engine was not rotated when the distributor was removed you should be in good shape.
Best regards.