[Marshall V. Daut]

"To check whether the timing gear is stripped, there is no need to undo anything. Take the top off the distributor and watch the rotor as you crank the engine. If the rotor does not turn, the gear is stripped. Simple!"

Yup. Even easier way to check for a stripped timing gear - If you press on the starter rod and the engine spins over much faster than usual, almost 100% of the time that test reveals a stripped timing gear. Less likely, however, would be a stripped distributor drive gear or sheared pin. But a fiber timing gear will give up the ghost sooner than that steel drive gear will. No distributor shaft turning = stripped timing gear, as Synchro909 writes
Marshall