Distributor Drama

I went and purchased new points today to replace the set up inside the distributor. The points were basically the last thing I could replace. I pulled off the cap and rotor, then removed the old points. I installed the new ones, and put in another new condenser, reinstalled the rotor and then cap. I went and tried to start her and still nothing, but when I went and looked at the engine in frustration, I saw smoke coming up from the resistor that I had installed a few days ago. After asking some questions on Stovebolt, I found out that I must have installed the points incorrectly. Apparently I had installed them so they created a closed circuit and weren't opening and closing like they should.

A couple of guys on stovebolt explained how to fix it. They told me that I should adjust the spacing of the points, that they should be set at 18 thousandths of an inch. Once I had adjusted the spacing I should check for spark, they told me a nice easy way of doing this while keeping the cap off of the distributor, and without having to climb into the truck to try to start it. First by removing a spark plug and it's wire, then attaching the other end of the wire to the coil, where the coil is normally connected to the cap of the distributor. Then using a screw driver to open and close the points, I should eventually see a spark at the end of the spark plug. If I don't then my wiring is incorrect somewhere.