Mercury 850 serial # 4367346 jumping time?

[jqueen07]

I got this motor a few months ago and got it running a couple weeks ago. It ran like new after I cleaned the carbs and did a link and sync.... then it wouldn't crank one day.....I checked the carbs....gas? yes.... fire on each cyl? yes.....still wont crank...... checked the timing and it was way off at idle. I adjust timing to get it to idle and run and it ran fine for 2 or 3 trips to the lake, and then the same thing again. I had to adjust the timing again.
Is this the symptoms of a bad trigger or stator? or maybe a bad cdi pack?
I don't want to spend a bunch of money buying non returnable electrical parts....Please help! the fish are biting!!

 

[Faztbullet]

Check to see if bearings are bad/dragging in distributer..

 

[jqueen07]

It has a cdi box with 4 coils type 5 ignition

 

[Chris1956]

Is the link to the trigger under the flywheel connected? Is there play in the throttle linkage?

 

[jqueen07]

there are only wires from the trigger, but they are connected, and there isn't any play in the linkage.
I just numbered the flywheel top dead center on all 4 cyl, and when you shine a timing light on it now it shows 1 1 1 2 1112...1141 and so on.... obviously it is firing at the wrong time randomly.... wondering if it is the trigger or the cdi? I wouldn't think it would be the stator because that just supplies voltage correct?