To keep my sanity I put the old bosch back in place and the car starts right up.
The rotor on both distributors point in basically the same direction when installed and have a similar relationship in position to their corresponding cap contacts. So I can hopefully put those suspicions to rest.
There's no way to see the inner workings of the 123 but as I understand it there is nothing mechanical about it at all. They say the only moving part is the rotor/shaft. So I'd assume that kind of finds it's timing based only on where you set the static timing. The rest is computerized. (Someone, please let me know if I'm wrong)
It's starting to seem like maybe the injectors aren't being triggered but I don't know why that would be. I've tried the trigger wires in both orientations. Seems, from the instructions, you should be able to connect either way. I have mini spade connectors on the dist. trigger wires plugged into the outer sockets of the d-jet harness and they are clean and tight. Should I pull all the injectors and put them in jars and crank the engine for a few? Arrrgh!