When I pop off the cap and try to turn the rotor back and forth it is a very sticky and kinda feels like it is grinding. I'm sure its not working that well. My car has a little bit of a misfire when accelerating at the lower rpms. It seems to idle pretty smooth though.

anyhow, I'm sure that I need to fix it so the rotor has smooth action so the vaccum advance can work properly.

Can I fix this myself, or am I stuck buying a rebuilt distributor for $200?

As stated above, this is on a 1984 L24 engine.

 

Try readjusting the TPS.

 

Ok, so if I adjust the throttle position sensor on the throttlebody that does nothing for my vaccume advance on the distributor.

I don't understand what the TPS has to do with it

 

Hmmm I was thinking it was a vg30 engine. I guess it has vacuum advance, but not sure.

If you can turn your rotor more than about 1/16" by hand, there's a problem somewhere. Possibly the gear is worn. This can cause problems. If you have a timing light and your timing mark seems to bounce, it's an indication of a worn gear, either on the dist or cam, or both.