enblethen is correct ! I built small block chevy racing engines from 1988 till 2002 when I stopped racing. The cam and crank gear dots pointing towards each other is standard assembly for all chevy small and big blocks.
Cougar: After assembly, you have to rotate the crank to set valve lash and that is usually where the mistake of getting the distributor stabbed 180 degrees off is made, as you usually would not install the distributor until all valves are set to the correct lash. Then you have to rotate the crank until the piston is on the compression stroke. If the #1 piston is up but not on the compression stroke and you install the distributor, it will be 180 degrees off. It sounds like this may have been why you're thinking it was the timing gears that were out of sync.
