What carburetion is on this engine? Vacuum advance requires a ported-vacuum signal that not all carbs can provide (some can be drilled to provide one). But it still needs to be the right signal for the canister on the distributor in order to work properly - problems occur even when swapping different models of distributor amongst different model
stock carbs....if you can't get the right vacuum signal from your carb(s) an all-centrifugal distributor is the pragmatic solution.
009s get a lot of negative reviews, most due to their inability to compensate for the momentary lean condition that occurs when the throttle's cracked open (there's an imagined incompatibility with the stock 34PICT-3 carb, but any single carb setup is susceptible, and it's more related to manifold size than any particular carb). A distributor with a vacuum-advance mechanism can provide a little extra advance at step-off (again provided it receives the correct signal) which helps to overcome the hesitation which results from this lean mixture.
As Lee said, quality control and the actual final advance curve can vary widely between one 009 and the next. The German ones are generally the best (it'll say "GERMANY" on the bottom of the body). Unless the centrifugal advance mechanism is frozen or grenaded, there should be no need to replace the distributor if the bushings aren't sloppy. A magnetic/Hall Effect pickup is more tolerant of that than are points, the "air gap" on a typical pickup can vary from as little as .010" to as much as .060" with no effect on performance, whereas points can start having issues with only a few thousandths' drift in gap.
If you've got a 20+ -year-old 0 231 178 009, odds are it'll be of either German or Brazilian manufacture. Chinese clones were just appearing on the market but weren't common yet.
There are a couple of other electronic pickups besides the Pertronix brand. 20 years ago, "Compufire" was still a fairly popular one. I believe the two companies have since melded under the Pertronix name, but at one time they were distinct products and the Compufire's reputation wasn't as good. All Pertronix instructions are available online.
http://pertronix.com/support/instructions/
Note that the Pertronix "Ignitor" part number for the 009 distributor is 1847A, while the one made to fit many `68-up stock distributors is 1847V...you'll want to decide on which distributor you'll be ending up with before buying a new module. I
think the only difference is in the height of the magnet ring that slides over the cam, so one could probably file some off of the bottom of the rotor if it hits the ring before seating fully. You should be able to remove the module and refit a set of points & a condenser (no irreversible modifications are made to the distributor when installing the pickup) if you want to confirm there are no other issues with the 009 - you may even find that works well enough that you can forego the purchase of the module altogether. I've managed to get along without electronic ignition for 45+ years
If the coil ohm'ed out OK it should work (no real need to test it "live). But DO verify that power's reaching the + terminal while cranking.
I've attached a picture of the 1847A Pertronix Ignitor which may help you in positively identifying yours.
). Also the advance curves are different than say an 010 (I think that is the number). If you haven't done it already I would have it put on a Sun machine and have it spun to see if anything, basic is wrong with it before you get too far into throwing time and money at it.