Sputter, dies, not the coil, not the ig switch, not....

Cleaned the carb out.

Wired around the ignition switch.

Swapped out the coil (not again, just the first time).

Checked my vent hole in the gas tank cap. Not clogged.

When I cleaned the carb I checked the fuel flow. I appears to me plenty of fuel is flowing.

Other possibilities suggested:

Intake manifold gasket leak: How do I detect this?

Ballast resistor, where is this located?

Condensor, is this part of the points?

I am about ready to turn this over to a professional.

Since you claim bypassing your ignition switch doesn't solve your problem, and since it takes about 1 hr for a bad ignition coil to make itself know, and since it restarts that tends to absove the battery, the slowly starts to sputter is indictive of a "leaky condenser". Replace it..... .....Dell

As for the condenser, I don't have my manual with me here at work -- is this something like the coil that pops in and pops out? Or do I have to adjust the timing?

No timing adjustment is necessary.

Just to clarify -- I don't need to adjust the timing by replacing the points OR the condensor OR the rotor?

(I usually have my FO manual at work when interrogating the board so heavily. I don't today. I just want to make sure I have everything I need before leaving town).

I did it in the family room in front of the TV. I was watching the tune-up video and I seem to recall that there is no timing adjustment on the front mount distributor.

Something I didn't mention before. The master tune-up kit didn't come with a gap strip, as I had seen with other points replacement kits. I used my sparkplug gauge which unfortunately didn't go down to .018, which is the required gap. So I have a 2N with gap set to .020. Doesn't seem to matter though.

Also make sure when replacing the distributor that the rotor shaft key is set in the engine before tightening the bolts. The housing is alluminum cast and will crack if not properly set.

You might want to replace the gaskets on the distributor while you have it apart.

I know some on this board disagree about wholesale replacement of compenents as a way to fix problems, but putting in a new condensor (yes part of distributor), points (gapped correctly), rotor, cap, little copper distributor wire, coil, plugs, etc. are fairly cheap and elimnate a host of potential problems OR COMBINATIONS OF LITTLE THINGS that add up to a problem like yours.

Chnage these things out first and try her. If it doesn't work you haven't spent much and you have the old parts to use as replacements.

Now, It is possible to detect SOME leakage in the intake man. gasket by squirting heavy oil around the gasket while engine's running, but you can't get all the areas and may miss the area that is leaing (if it is). Personally don't think that's your problem.

After tractor dies have you pulled the plugs out (hot) and looked at the sparks in each plug? If nice and white/blue, then you do not have an ignition problem, start looking for fuel supply related problem. If you are getting plenty of gas TO the carb, then check carb float level air/fuel screw settings. Check all supply lines for leaks like by that damnable fuel bowl. It has a habit of backing itself out and sucking air into the line there.

If these check out, you can try the manifold test I described, but again, it only works if you've squirted oil on a leak area.

Your problem is definately ignition or fuel related so keep working these areas. It's so easy to overlook something simple. If you saw a post from me a few days ago about an almost invisible tear in the rotor spring that's an example of how a $2 part can make all the difference.

Don't give up. Learn your tractor and you'll be able to diagnose and fix problems very quickly.

Best of luck.

ballast resistor is behind dash at terminal block - check voltage going in and out - should be 6 volts in, 6 out with points open, 3.2 with 'em closed - make sure it is not bypassed.

condensor is in distributor, below where coil sits - usually replaced at same time as points - check point gap too.

ride this one dude - you can do it!