well I got it running- turned out the locking nut on the points
adjustment screw, needs to be snug against the block while adjusting-
or it won't set the gap properly- once I snugged up the nut a bit, then
set gap, it got spark back, started, and ran

other problems surfaced- the cylinder head was leaking compression from
one bolt head- I removed the head, cleaned the surfaces, and
reinstalled with sealer on the old gasket- fixed that.

now intermittently, the spark just goes away and the engine stalls- I
believe this is a prime candidate for an electronic conversion- by what
I'm hearning now, it requires the flywheel to be sent to Briggs and
repolarized ? They do that for free, but shipping cost and time
involved.

for how much I use this machine, maybe new points/condenser would do
the trick