Ok, I put a new 9 volt battery in it and hooked it up to the '86 6.9. It worked like a charm! hce is right. When my timing light flashes, the timing mark is lined up with the magnetic probe hole. No big deal, I think I make some new timing marks on the damper.
I did notice that the lumey probe was more inconsistent; timing mark jumping around, but that is because my injector pump is F'd up and the truck is smoking like crazy. The injection event is the same, so it is consistent with the Ferret, but because the timing is so far retarded at idle now the burn is not consistent, hence much smoke. I have an IP coming, so I will update when I put it in.
That is all for now.
b.