Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1940 Ford Deluxe electrical/starting, engine cranks, cable issues

Question
I have a 1940 Ford Deluxe with a flathead V-8 engine.  The engine is very hard to start, but it does "turn over", it runs quite well.  I've noticed what appears to be a ballist resistor on the firewall, but no wires are connected to it.  Could this be my problem?  What wires should to connected to the ballist resistor?

Answer
The ceramic resistor is to step down 12volts to 9volts (6v to 4.2v)after the engine cranks to extend the life of the points and condenser. It is not mandatory and they went out often, so they were bypassed often. I can tell you how to wire a new one if you want to replace it.

Hard to start in what way? Turns over a lot (bad points setting - dwell), or barely turns(usually ground cable issues).