I bet it's some silly little thing with the ignition. You should have got some response when you tried the starting fluid unless the spark plugs are completely gas soaked.

I ran into a good one a couple months ago with a 71 F-700 truck. I put the timing light on one of the spark plug wires and it flashed. So I thought it was the carburetor dumping too much fuel, put a kit in the carburetor, then bought a new carburetor. Come to find out, the large wire that runs from the coil to the center of the distributor cap was bad.

 

i am going to buy new wires and plugs sat (if i can find money) just to eliminate that as a possibility

 

Yea that is certainly worth doing if what it has is age unknown and questionable condition.

Without going back through the thread what brought the problem on.

Started and ran fine every day until temps took a header on set of winter? Then it had trouble starting some mornings but otherwise seamed run ok once it did start?

Then yea its time for a tune up for sure, not enough fire in the hole set off the rich fuel mix shot in due to sensors detecting the lower temps.

 

update!!! It now can run but not good at all. after new plugs, new plug wires, and a hot battery it fired right up. but it sounds like a sick subaru. Vacuum gauge reads 8-9 and with my cam it is suppose to read 15-16. soaked it in starting fluid and found no vacuum leaks, Checked timin and it is 10 degrees BTDC, so then i just played with distributor to see if the vacuum would pick up and it never moved. So, i think that i am going to block off all non-motor vacuums and try it again, then do a compression test.

Now my fuel is acting weird. Now my fuel PSI reads 40, but when i shut it off, it instantly drops to 25 psi, so i am assuming a FPR??

The motor has 400 miles on it, entire fuel system also has 400 miles on them.

 

Now my fuel is acting weird. Now my fuel PSI reads 40, but when i shut it off, it instantly drops to 25 psi, so i am assuming a FPR??

Might be the FPR but there is some test you can do help narrow it down.

Could be,

FPR
Leaking fuel injectors
stuck open fuel pump reverse check valve

First one is pinch off the fuel return line after/downstream of the FPR, use a pair of vise grips or c clamp to flatten rubber section of line closing it off. Have it ready to put on the line you at the ready and with the fuel pressure gauge in view, have someone turn on the key and allow it to build full pressure (cycle key if need be) then last time right after key is shut off clamp the line. Watch the fuel pressure gauge to see if any change, if the pressure doesn't drop as fast replace the FPR. Then repeat the test see if problem has been 100% corrected or have other issues yet to deal with.

If fails static leak down test, leakage rate still to high after replacing faulty FPR do same test again this time pinching off fuel supply line between motor and pump. If leakage is reduced replace the high pressure frame mounted pump.

If the leakage rate is unchanged its very likely one or more fuel injectors are leaking.

Check plugs after extended idle period, look for signs of rich mixture, to verify and narrow it down to cylinder/s effected.
Myself if I suspected one or more leaked I'd replace them all.

I'd correct that problem first then move on to the vac problem, needs full fuel to idle/run strong.

And myself I use water to look for vac leaks, watch for steam out of tail pipe. Its a sure way to find a leak, beats all the carb cleaner/starting fluid/propane etc hands down. If one is sucking air and you hit that spot with slow flow from garden hose? you will immediately see steam from the exhaust pipe. Keep in mind steam readily and instantly dissipates seconds clear of the tail pipe where as smoke does not, easy to detect because of that fact.

 

i did the clamping-off test. on the rerturn line side, i clamped it and the psi went up a lil, then released it and the psi dropped 8-10 psi. on the feed line, it did not go up upon clamping but psi kept going down slowly. removed clamp and it still goes down slowly. Fortunatly, my FPR and pump are on warranty so i warranty the FPR last night and It didnt fix the problem. I am going to warranty out the fuel pump today just because i can. My money is on faulty fuel injectors but i will verify that tonight.

Now as for the vacuum problem. The gauge is reading 8 and bounces on the 8. i am hoping for a cracked upper intake gasket (inbetween runners where carbv cleaner doesnt work). dad said it might be valves not fully opening. i wil start that tonight.

 

put the new frame fuel pump on and the psi still drops, so that leaves the injectors. i took all the spark plugs out and 6 of the 8 look wet. hummmmm.

I also did a compression test while all plugs were out. 168-168-168-170-164-165-165-165.


also- How to Use and Interpret a Vacuum Gauge is a page about vacuum gauge readings. mime is more like scenario 10 and 12. more to the 12 so now to find a intake leak

***just cam in from removing my upper plenum. no cracks in the gasket but it was saturated in gas on the back half. The Lower plenum, first two runners (#1, #5) were dry, but the rest were wet with gas (lil oil) so i am assuming that is from leaking injectors?????