"I put my 6.6L 400 from my 1969 into a 1980 Pontiac LeMans," and "the positive side of my coil got wired to the original ignition wire that ran to the distributor on the previous motor," does not compute. The points run on 6 volts of current via a resistor wire (that black/silver braided looking wire) while an '80 with HEI has a fat 12 volts in the ignition lead. You probably toasted the condenser. FWIW the "start" position of the ignition switch on a points car feeds 12 volts to the distributor just for a moment to get it going, then in the "run" position it drops to 6 volts or else the points arc and burn as well as the condenser quits and coil overheats if fed a constant 12 volts. (That's why there are 2 wires at the coil + terminal) I'm thinking you had the key in the "on" position while getting everything in order and damaged stuff. To use points you would need to replace everything again, as well as add an external resister block like what Chrysler used on it's points cars, or you retain the original resister wire in it's entirety, not cut at all. I would just switch to a factory Pontiac HEI and call it a day, and be rid of maintenance issues. If your '80 came with a Pontiac 301 it would be a direct swap.
