TOPIC: 2 Mercury 85s.....looking ofr help

The tilt and trim set up i just got ...the guy through in his 2 Mercury 85's....
#4235806--bad distributor
#5007838--Runs but has compression under 100 in 2 cyl.-coil pack ignition

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with these yet.
The one w/ bad distributor has an after market CDI box. He said no spark...when i got it home I opend up the cowl, the wires from this cdi box and distributor were cut?
I emailed for clarification on why?
Does anyone know much about the CDI boxes? There is a warning tag on one of the wires, WARNING do not hook to 12 volt source....
This motor he said he bought knowing it ran...got it home waited a while until he went to mount and wouldn't start.
Took it in....no spark?
Also his 85 that he was replacing had a 7 pin connector the one on pontoon had a 6.....can a 6 pin be used on a 7?

If you have an 85 Mercury for above years keep me in mind I may be parting out both out....