Tom and Jo's Engine won't fire

Guys, I need your help...

My buddies Tom and Jo, who always help me with my boat, have a problem of their own that they can't figure out.
So they asked me to post this here.

They have an '88 SN 2001. They could lay their hands on a newer 351 PCM from another boat that crashed, and swapped it with their original engine.
They rebuilt this engine that is from the early nineties, LH, originally with the pro-tech ignition (the rectangular shaped box, for lack of a better description).
They rebuilt the engine and put a Mallory distributor on it, this one purchased on Skidim. And all the components needed with it for the complete ignition.

But the engine won't fire up, and they have tried about everything.
They know their way around an engine, but this got them startled...

Here are some pictures of the number stamped on the motor for more info:

Engines aren’t magic, if they have compression fuel and spark – preferably occurring at the right time they will run. Check if it is getting a spark, an inductive timing light on a spark plug wire will tell you that. Check if it has fuel, take off the spark arrestor and watch to see if the squirters squirt when the throttle is pumped. If it has both those things check for compression. If it has all those things and still doesn’t run then report back and we will tell you the spark plugs wires are in the wrong order.

Don't forget the distributor spins the same direction no mater which way the engine spins.

I thought they had a BB BFN...or that was another project boat they had?

Nothing special about the firing order on a Protec or ProBoss. Though obviously the coil packs are different than a conventional distributor. Having already been converted to a standard ignition system, its the same as any other LH PCM Ford.

If they cant get it to run knowing it has fuel and spark, then theyre probably missing something very basic- probably firing order, cylinder numbering, or timing. They may not be the engine wizards you think they are.

I would start with the basics- verify cylinder numbering scheme and then find TDC on the compression stroke on cyl #1... see which way the rotor is pointing and put the plug wires on accordingly.

There's the possibility that the distributor was mounted "180 degrees out" I think they call it, right?

AKA, distributor rotor pointing to #1 post, but the #1 cylinder is TDC on the exhaust stroke and not the compression stroke.

Enigne is running strong!

As soon as they read Tim and Brian's posts, the proverbial lightbulb went on in their heads

Turned out the ignition was 180 degrees off base
So I slapped them in the face, for (as Tim stated) they should have guessed that from the beginning, as engine savvy guys

So thank you all for the help... If the fall over here finally dignifies itself to turn into spring, we can get some real ski time done...