I agree, you "should" not need to swap those wires; plug and play will probably get it going.
I believe the schematic posted is in error; the numbers do match but the "apparent" positioning is indeed misleading. I looked up the schematic in my Haynes 73-79 F-series manual and the black-green wire from the distributor is a ground connection; by reversing the wires you simply grounded the "sensor" module, hence no spark. All of the model years shown for the F-series show the same relative wire positions on the Duraspark modules, and I see no reason why they would be changed for the cars.
Joe