[B_man_Al]

Hi Kevin ….
Me again. The point you make about excessive current when the engine is off and the points are closed is a good one for ignition systems that have ballast resistors with a positive temperature coefficient (the higher the current and hence power dissipation, the higher the resistance). Its doing exactly the right thing by responding to the average current/power dissipation (not the peak) and limiting the coil current accordingly.
For an ignition system that has this type of resistor, the engine off measurements must be made quickly (a few seconds) before the ballast resistor has had a chance to get hot.
If you have an ignition system with a ceramic power resistor, such as used when converting to 12v with the original 6v coil, (typically 1-1.5 ohms) the engine off measurements will be OK as the resistor value is stable and does not increase with temperature. Again the measurements should be done quickly to not overheat the coil.
In the running condition the average power in the resistor and the coil will be approximately half of the engine off value due to the point dwell.
As far as condensors are concerned I had a very similar problem with my model B a few years ago. I was convinced I had a fuel system problem after checking the timing and points and coil. After a few miles my car would start sputtering and quit or only idle but not run at higher RPM. Turned out to be the condenser failing at high temperature!
Hope some of this helps anyone out there.
Al