What does it mean when the mechanic says that my dodge caravan's new gen 6 ignition module needed to be reconfigured before it would "fix" the problem with not starting

Actually they're not. These newer vehicles do not have distributors as you probably knew them way back when. The Gen 6 ignition module is more or less a system where there's a coil pack on each cylinder. Two went bad in my Dakota just recently. The purpose is, if you have an older vehicle with a distributor, the engine will die completely after it warms up. After it cools, you can start it again, and it'll die again later. With this newer system, only a couple cylinders will fail, but the vehicle will still be driveable enough for you to get it to a shop.