David, My canister in the pontoon also had the cap (almost) missing from the port that has no hose connected. It was rotten and just about to fall off. And the cap certainly wasn't doing it's job, but the engine still ran fine anyway. So I doubt this is your problem. I put a new cap on my empty port since I felt that this may have been a fire hazard. Caps are easy and cheap to come by. You might also want to check to be sure the hose at the bottom of the canister hasn't come loose and is also venting out the bottom of the pontoon. It's probably not a good idea to let gasoline vapors accumulate in the pontoon. Even with all of your vacuum lines disconnected, I think your engine should still run okay at idle. Y'all correct me if I'm wrong. The vacuum just advances the distributor after the engine is warmed up and enriches the fuel mixture while the engine is cold. I can't help you with the distributor since I have no experience (yet) with the Delorean ignition. Perhaps you have the plug wires on in the wrong firing order or you managed to get the rotor on wrong. Hope this helps, Walt Tampa, FL