Take a digital photo of the distributor, with the cap removed and rotor in place, before removing anything further.
This gives a great visual reminder about how things were prior to taking things apart.

Make sure your timing marks are good so you can trust them.

Remove the spark plug from #1 cylinder.
Rotate crank in correct direction until pressure comes up in #1 cylinder.
You can detect pressure with your finger, or any number of tools you can make from an old, gutted, sparkplug.

Once you have pressure being built, and you are certain you are on the compression stroke, not exhaust, then stick a small dowl into #1 cylinder through the spark plug hole.
This dowl does not have to be stout, just stiff enough to not deflect easily.
I use a 1/8" wood dowl because it fits easily, does not jamb, but provided enough ridgidity to get the job done. Besides, none of the wood particles left behind will cause harm to the engine.

With the dowl inserted, and the piston still coming up to TDC, slowly rotate the crank until you find TDC. Not the rotor location makes sense and matches closely to what you had prior to work.
You will likely go past TDC on the first attempt...No big deal, just go around again, but pull the dowl out before going further so you don't drop it in, or mash it somehow.

This time as you come around to TDC pay close attention to your timing marks.
Like Brent said, stop at 30* BTDC and set things up.
This should get you started and running. Once running get the light and set things just right.

I did some searching. I talked with my parts store manager. He talked with his Ford delaership mechanic he confides in.
They searched up and down with my VIN# as well as other useful information taken directly off the ECU tag.
The "trouble" part of my numbers lies in the (x2b) portion, all else is verifiable.

The best info we can come up with is the aftermarket boxes have simply done away with the number suffix between the two letters.

I have a box coming with the (xb) numbers and I will find out how this goes.
My manager friend said I could return it if it does not work properly.

In a holding pattern for the next few days for the box to arrive.

Yes, I agree with the water intrusion part.
The multi-pin connector does have a nice silicone seal across all the pins, but the rest of the connector is pretty exposed. I may devise a deflector of some type to help with this...Or just leave it and fill the area with dielectric grease and hope for the best.
None of the pins or connector is corroded at this point, which I found surprising.

A quick Google search produced this hit on your ECU calibration - in stock:

https://www.fs1inc.com/e8tf-12a650-x2b-1988-ford-truck-f-series-4-9l-engine-computer-pcm-ecm-ecu-plug-play-efi-sd20a.html

Thanks. I was literally on that site and was unable to bring up my exact ID#
I typed it into the search a couple times just to make sure I did not fat finger the numbers too.
I did find a few numbers that were very close, such as XB, but without the 2 inbetween.
I also typed in caps for the letters of the part number, maybe that makes a difference.

I will admit I am not a fan of the self driving cars...for a number of reasons.
But, the tech is here and it will be developed regardless of my desires for such things.

The teething problems of new tech, or advancing tech, can be funny and startling.

You should see some of the early trials of the Phalanx CIWS weapon systems...Talk about scary!

See!...SEEE!!! This is what you get when you mix snow tires on the rear, and all season tires on the front.
Tire Rack was right. You do need four snow tires to be safe.

I am wondering what the current manual transmission options are for use in an ERA Cobra Roadster.
This will be a street style Cobra, no scoops, no rollbar, no stripes...nothing S/C about it.
The engine will be an FE built with relatively mild specs and dressed to look correct. Probably in the 430HP and 480TQ range. Brent will be building this engine.
This will be a fun style Cobra that is mostly street driven, cruised, and beat on when the mood strikes.
I like the way the Toploader shifts and feels when set up right, but I would like to add one more gear to act like an overdrive.
The Tremec TKO600 is one option, but I have found them notchy and hard shifting compared to the Toploader.
This transmission should not require special modifications to the ERA Cobra to install.
I don't want to cut the car, or have the shifter in an odd place.
Undercar mods are not as much an issue.

Because I don't know everything...yet...I am seeking advice from the FE brain trust concerning what is currently available for such duty.

Thanks for any and all help.

427HISS; There is a lot to consider when talking about this subject. One major thing to keep in mind is the difference between lab findings, and real world engine conditions. First, let us assume all parts of the ignition system are operating properly.

Considering the new rare earth metals used in electrode tips...YES, they do last longer than standard metal tips...but does that matter in an FE powered vehicle? I don't think so.

A few parameters a spark plug must meet are, correct heat range, correct spark gap, the ability to thread in and fit the hole as intended, the ability to arrest the spark energy and channel it to the plug gap only, and the ability to properly hold the spark plug wire...The rest is some sort of add on.

An Autolite 45 is a pretty standard plug for FE engines, and has been around for a long, long time. This plug will function properly if it is the correct heat range for the tune of the engine as well as having the correct gap. In a points style system it will easily go 30,000 miles, and in a more modern system it will easily go 50,000 miles.

But, at less than $30 for a set of 8 plugs it really does not matter because they are cheap to replace if something goes wrong.

The V-plugs, and other poly-electrode styles do offer some benefits, but only in terms of more sharp, conductive areas for the spark to jump across.
The electrical properties of the spark are limited to the physics of electricity.
This means the spark will jump the gap of least resistance.

When the single electrode plug begins to wear, the spark must work a bit harder to jump the growing gap. Until the gap becomes more resistive than other conductive gaps, the spark will continue to jump that gap...right up to misfire conditions.

The poly-electrode plugs do provide multiple areas for the spark to arc across, but they do not provide an "easier" area for the spark to arc across until the easiest area wears to the point the spark arc begins using a different gap area than the now worn and harder to jump gap occurs.

In effect, the poly-electrode plugs provide more wear surfaces as compared to a single electrode plug. All else is equivalent when the system parameters are taken into consideration.
The Autolite 45, when gapped correctly and in good condition, will provide the same spark, across the same .040" gap, as any other quality conductor capable of handling the power of the system.

The poly-electrode plugs do provide a "better" life in systems, or uses, that tend to burn electrodes quickly simply because they literally have more electrodes to burn down before the plug begins to misfire.

This same principle occurs in the rare metal tipped plugs. The tips simply last longer and therefore maintain the proper gap longer...but they do not provide a better spark across a given gap.

The rare earth metal tipped plugs do present a potential to lose the tip...They are affixed in some manner so they will come off at some point. This VERY hard tip now must travel through the system until ejected out the exhaust, or becoming lodged into some portion of the engine where it finally resides.

My findings concerning spark plugs are this.
1) The plug must be constructed properly, Good threads, good seal washer if required, good porcelain (resistor/insulator) good conductor and connection to the plug wire tip, electrodes that maintain the set gap, proper length of plug body into combustion chamber for the application.

The rest, while verifiable in the lab, probably does not result in increased performance with normal engine use.

Last is the general use of most FE engine these days. While many FE's now reside in nice cars and trucks and boats, few of them see daily use and high miles each year...Many don't see 3,000 miles per year.
This means a lowly 30,000 mile lifespan spark plug will probably last 8-10 years in most instances when screwed into an FE engine these days.

Find a spark plug you like, understand, and have verified as a working heat range for your engine tune and let the rest work itself out.

If there is one thing I have verified over the decades in terms of spark plugs it is this.
I have never, ever, had a properly sized, name brand, spark plug NOT work properly without a good reason.
That reason is usually a physical defect in the plug, some issue with the ignition system of the engine, a poor tune, or some variation of all of these...but never has the plug itself been the problem.

Champion, Autolite, Motorcraft, NGK, Bosch, AC Delco, Denso, they all work well when applied, gapped, and installed correctly.