Tractor Repair: Ford 3000 tractor, ford 3000 tractor, timing light

Question
Hi , my name is Steve and had asked a question the other day on the Ford 3000 with the gas engine. I was having trouble with, I thought the fuel pump or the carburetor. I went ahead and rebuilt the carb and tried it to no avail. Still would start and then act like it would just run out of gas. I was at my end on it, but before I was going to have it picked up to find the problem I thought I would throw a tune-up on top of what I already had done. New plugs and the carb. So, today I put a new coil, points, rotor button and condenser in it and the tractor fired right up and is doing fine. I'm not sure which part fixed it, but doesn't matter now. What I can't figure out is that the plugs were never wet, like it was losing spark, testing always showed spark. Which would you say was the problem? Thank you very much for your trouble, I do appreciate it. Steve

Answer
  If you tested for spark after the engine died, it may have showed spark then but maybe did not have spark as the engine was shutting off.  A neon timing light can be used to check if there is spark as the engine starts to die.  If the timing light still flashes as the engine is shutting off, then there is still spark.  Intermittent ignition problems can be caused by any ignition component, but I have seen a couple of bad coils and lots of bad condensers cause it.