It originally was starter, glow plugs, and air leaks but all that should have been fixed by now. It started on its own for a month but it had the glow plugs for 1-2 months before it would do that. Thanks for the help... Is there any cheap way to temporarily get it to start on its own I'm trying to save money right now so I can pull and do a full rebuild on the motor.

Not without doing the diagnostics and eliminating one thing at a time positively.

What makes you think you need a full rebuild?

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

The part the plugs into the glow plug controller it looks like is missing one of the 6 metal conductors that connect to the controller could that be part of the problem?

No, That's normal.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

Thanks just wanted to make sure since I'm still kinda new to the truck

Yup, No problem, We don't mind questions!

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

never be afraid to ask, the only stupid question is the one you do not ask.
we were all new to these trucks at one time or another. some of us have just been at it with the for a long long time.

I just want to bring up that if it starts with anything less than a full second shot of ether... the engine is just fine. If you really had a massive loss of compression(enough to keep it from starting), it would require a ton of ether to get it going.
I had a pretty wore out motor that did require a rebuild; the cylinder walls had actually worn .020 out(.010 ridge at the top); bearings were very worn, and it ticked a bit.
The day I pulled the engine, it fired right up with glow plugs only.

When I bought it(5 years before), the PO had been using a decent amount of ether to get it to start. Got the glow plug system working correctly, and it had no trouble firing with just that, even in mid winter.

So, honestly, don't worry a rebuild yet. Chances are, there's no need. Worry about making the glow plug system work /correctly/ first; if needed, you can always setup a manual push-button system.

I tend to agree ...

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

It was a farm truck and I'm the second owner of it but it was beat up by dirt roads pastures and kicked by several cows so it's a little rough but it only has 145420 miles on it. Before it got parked it had to be pull started every time (but the glow plugs and starter were bad) and it was pulled to where it set by a tractor because it shattered the rear axle. I only want to rebuild the motor because I'm putting parts from R&D IDI performance on it including a turbo and I figured it would be easier to pull the motor and make sure I wouldn't blow my heads or anything else with the turbo. I'm kinda going for a useable/reliable daily driver that's showroom quality (it will be 6 months to a year before I have the money for the motor so right now I'm fixing things as they break or start to act weird)

at 145k miles that thing is probably gonna look like new inside when you get it apart.
i have seen 6.9's with 400k+ on them that looked like new inside when pulle dfor resealing. new gaskets and they were good to go.

I don't want to bash R&D - Justin's a great guy -- but considering it is a 6.9 and you are limited in the maximum boost you can handle without blowing the gaskets(*with* studs) -- you might be better off looking for a used Wastegated Banks Sidewinder kit. They'll make 12 PSI quite nicely(adjustable via wastegate), and if you can find a kit in the $500 range, that's a *lot* cheaper than a new turbo kit.
I got 240-ish RWHP out of one of these, which is a /major/ boost over stock.
You'd still want studs, but that's a lot of money you might be able to save.

If you are looking for more power than that, you might want to go with a 7.3, for the bigger stud clamping pressure.

Im going to get head studs and I was looking for a banks kit but I can't find any used ones. I talked to Justin at R&D and he said he will throw in what I need to use the ATS 088 turbo that I have.

Yeah, if you have to buy new, he's the guy.

if the glows were working your starting fluid would ignite when you sprayed it in... you need to find the problem the glows are not getting hot....