NicktheNasty

Howdy,
The issue is fairly well laid out in the title. I've reached my wits-end with this issue and have used it as the best reason to officially join the forum that has preserved my hairline on many occasions.
What I know: the battery is nearing its final resting point. But still reads 11-13 volts with the assistance of what is beginning to feel like constant restorations from a charger..
The PIP is sending signal to ICM
The ICM is sending Signal to Coil.
No spark from coil, coil replaced, still no spark.
Old coil benches in at ~1 ohm primary and ~7.5k ohm secondary, new coil at ~1 and ~10.5k respectively..
I am doing the diagnostics solo, used a DVM propped between hood and windshield, reading between 4.5 and 5 volts cranking in pins 1 and 5 of ICM and at coil.
Following the "advice" of "professional" youtubers I pulled the high tension wire off the distributor, placed a plug in the end and grounded with booster cable to battery negative as a clamp against the throttle wire mount plate. Prior to this i cleaned a bit of the rust off the plate and confirmed it as solid ground with DVM. Then i grounded out the PIP signal with a test light. No spark. An unidentified click sounded from, as near as discernible, the rear/center of the engine. Then, with the above set-up i grounded out the Pos terminal at the coil. Again, no sparks from plug.
The coil to distributor wire reads continuous with ~5k ohms. I also performed all the above tests using an incandescent test light as well as a set of booster cables to create an air-gap to coil, no difference in outcome.
I will be skipping lunch this week to save up for the unnecessary (defective?) replacement of the coil.
Any and all suggestions are welcome. The truck was having intermittent issues leading up to its current () condition. Most notably an affinity for the cold weather.