Hey Goose, I was waiting until I had my car back in my hands and on the road to say anything, but I'll update now anyway:

The car is safe. Me and two of my good friends went over with a flatbed and a pickup and rescued my car. The old mechanic was quite upset and I had to keep reminding him that there was nothing he could do but let me leave with my car, parts, and motor. We got what he would give us on the spot, took inventory with pictures, and road away to a new mechanic. The old mechanic left out a lot of parts, including the new aftermarket distributor. He also gave me an incorrect carburetor which required us to purchase an adapter for the intake to make it work.

My new mechanic took me and my motor to a trusted machine shop he's used for years where they re-machined and rebuilt the engine in just two days (versus the 7 months it took my old mechanic to install just the crank shaft into the motor). They ordered parts for the engine that the old mechanic didn't give me (he provided me with aged/used rocker arms and push rods, to name just two) and had it all ready to go after last weekend. The new mechanic picked up the motor and brought it back to his shop to finish it up and drop it in my car. Right now we're waiting on an HEI distributor we ordered to arrive from Summit and the dipstick tubing that goes into the oil pan to arrive from ebay. I will have my car back next week, built, guaranteed to last, and roaring down the road.

The guy finishing up my engine and putting it into my car is mainly a body work guy who does all his own fabrication and body work. He's really good from what I've seen of his work and is doing my engine after my father and I explained what happened. So far, he's kept me updated every step of the way, and will be providing me a packet of all the work done, including receipts on parts he ordered and information I can take with me to bring to any new mechanics I find in case work needs to be done in the future. I think this is what "the right way" feels like, and although I'm a little slower to trust this time around, I'm certain I'll have my Bird back next week and running strong.

As for the money I wasted on the last mechanic, I'm working with base legal and my lawyer to see what my options are. Legal assistance on post says that I'll be able to take him to small claims court with what I have on him. 7 months of time, wrong parts, used parts, and missing parts with receipts to show that I paid for high quality, expensive parts and labor that I wasn't provided in the end. We'll see what happens with that- The lawyers will put my legal packet together free of charge so I have nothing to lose by investigating the paths I can take. I have been calling my old mechanic demanding the money or parts he owes me, and after much anger, he's promised to call tomorrow so I can either pick up parts or money. So this may not even have to go to court after all.

Thanks for everyone's support! This thread has been a huge help and I've learned from a lot of you what direction to go and what to be weary of in the future. Lessons learned.