Your advice is dead-on w/r/t my first attempted installation. However, I think you overlooked this part of my original message:

"2. Did everything the same, except ignition timing, which I set by lining the rotor button up with the aforementioned notch on the distributor housing. This time it sputters and shakes, but does not start at all...:"

So the second time I installed the belt, I ignored the mark on the intermediate shaft sproket completely and just set the timing by pointing the rotor button at the notch. I should have instead adjusted the distributor as you suggested--that would have been more methodical--but my thought process was clouded by frustration at the time.

Unless any new info or suggestions come to light before I get around to it, I will remove the belt again and line everything up properly, adjusting the distributor as per your suggestion, and see what happens...

Something I forgot to mention earlier: When diagnosing the broken timing belt, I noticed that the distributor cap and rotor were rather old, and attempted to replace them. The cap was a piece of cake (and yes, I am absolutely certain I have the new cap wired correctly), but the rotor button, which (since my less-than-trusty Haynes manual doesn't say otherwise) I assume should slide right off the shaft, refuses to budge... So now I have some bonus questions: is there some trick to removing the rotor button? And does my lack of success removing it indicate a problem with the distributor?

Thanks, Bruce et al. I appreciate every moment you all have spent puzzling this out with me.

-David