hey mate,

Just a suggestion,

Try and check/confirm that the wire(usually black) which goes from the points to the power in the dizzy is not in contact with any part of the dizzy housing.(i hope that makes sense)
if the wire is even slightly in touch with the housing it will cause the car to crank but not start.That might also be why the car probably started and drove normally for a while after touching the points.

remove that wire make sure its in good nick and when re-installing them back make sure they dont have contact with the housing.there is usually a plastic "bit/part" which stops the wire from touching the housing.
also replace the condensor if u already haven't.
I usually add another bigger condensor from the peugout 504 to the a-series one and they run well.

Hopefully that was the problem...

cheers