DJ,

The switch attached to the butterfly is a throttle position switch. It simply tells the ECU if the car is at wide open throttle or idle. There is an altitude module near the OVP/battery area. If you removed the potentiometer and did not reinstall it exactly as it was removed, then the signal it is sending to the ECU is probably off from the other sensors on the motor. It is not s simple remove and replace. It is difficult to get it perfectly calibrated if you did not mark a reference point before removal. The timing is controlled by the ECU after readings from a speed sensor on the crank pulley. The distributor has no effect on the timing.

Let us know if you having any luck with the new potentiometer.

Tinker