MSD Distributor issues

[Dangerous Doug]

Brand new, right-out-of the box MSD 8352 Pro-Billet "Ready to Run" distributor appears to not work. I'm not running an ignition box. Installed the unit, and then tried to fire the engine up.

Fires right up, then dies. I tried this several times, to make sure I was getting fuel.

Testing: I disconnected the distributor pigtail from the coil and measured the voltage at the + and - terminals on the coil: +12.44V. I install the distributor pigtail and the voltage at the coil terminals drops to +2.44V.

Since I have +12.44V at the coil terminals with the distributor disconnected, and it immediately pulls down to 2.44V when the distributor is connected I reason that the distributor has failed.

Am I missing something?

DD

Get this: My original 8352 failed, but it was several years old and I chalked it up wear. Since I am building a new engine and didn't want to spend much on my current engine, I replaced the failed distributor with a Summit Racing MSD knock-off for $190. THAT unit had an internal intermittent short, and I returned it. Frustrated, I dropped $365 on an 8352 that worked fine for two weeks, then failed and required me to flatbad the Cobra home. THEN, I get this unit as a warranty replacement (Summit Racing is pretty awesome in service) and it fails right out of the box. I'm pretty fried on all of this trouble-shooting. I just wanted one more season out of this engine before I drop in my 331 stroker (which, I regret to say, also has an MSD distributor that I installed...). This has been maddening!