I think that Pat is saying that the distributor housing runs thru the passenger oil galley....meaning that without the distributor housing to plug the galley, you can pump all night and may not see any oil on that side.

Such is why a priming tool for many engines is more than just a shaft. Many make a priming tool out of an old distributor....take off the drive gear, strip the weights off the top and make the top of the shaft semi round so the drill chuck will clamp on it. Rotate the engine slowly while priming to open all passages to the oil flow.

Mike in Tucson