Can anyone help me out. My intake gasket started leaking so I went got some new ones took everything apart, figured might as well replace the valve cover gaskets while I'm there. Made sure to mark the distributor, you know how the process goes but anyways after I get everything all buttoned back up the distributor won't line up to save my life. Any ideas ?

 

Welcome from Florida. When installing the distributor, you have to line up the distributor shaft with the slot on the oil pump shaft as well as the timing mark. The video will help.

 

Welcome to Chevy - please post your vehicle details

 

Its much much easier if you mark things before you remove them for this one. I prefer lining up the motor at TDC (top dead center) before disassembly as well. First disconnect your battery, this is important to make it impossible for the motor to fire while your doing this it would be very bad. Then locate your number one cylinder and remove the spark plug. Then get a long skinny piece of something I usually use a wire hanger and put it down the spark plug hole. Then trace your number one cylinder spark plug wire back to the distributor and mark the distributor number one where that wire goes into the cap. Then remove the cap and manually rotate your motor until the conductive side of the distributor rotor (thats the end with the little metal piece on it) points to the number one terminal on the cap. At this point the long skinny thing you put in the spark plug hole should be pushed out as far as it will go before the piston starts going back down the bore. You are now lined up at TDC. When you put the new distributor in just make sure the conductive side of the rotor points to the number one terminal on the cap. If your rotor doesnt point at the number one terminal at TDC you are either 180 degrees off and your #1 cylinder is on the exhaust stroke or your distributor timing is off. I hope this helps.

Alternately you can use a straight edge to line up marks for where the rotor points at TDC if its easier that way, but I always found it easy enough to tell if its a tooth off from how the rotor lines up with the contacts inside the cap.