OK... verified that every single vacuum line I could find is correctly attached and not split. All fuel lines appear to be correctly attached, and I know fuel is getting past the filter.

 

By suggestion, I sprayed a bunch of starter fluid into the TB, put the car back together, and fired it up. The car starts IMMEDIATELY and runs until the starter fluid burns up, then immediately dies.

 

So I assume this is a fuel delivery problem I'm looking at here?

Are your fuel injectors opening? If they're not operating, then your car won't run.

This will sound really silly and archaic, but take a long screw driver and set the end of it on each of the fuel injectors with the handle to your ear and have someone start the car.

 

You'll be able to hear them pulsing/clicking if the injectors are properly working.

Can you smell gas out the exhaust after cranking? If you can, the injectors may be supplying too much fuel, in which case the engine wont start unless you add starter fluid to let a wider range of mixtures combust..... If thats the case, could be any number of sensors - start unplugging them and once the bad one is unplugged the motor should start.

 

If you can't smell gas, I'd be looking at wiring between disty and ecs, and ecs and injectors.......

Can you smell gas out the exhaust after cranking? If you can, the injectors may be supplying too much fuel, in which case the engine wont start unless you add starter fluid to let a wider range of mixtures combust..... If thats the case, could be any number of sensors - start unplugging them and once the bad one is unplugged the motor should start.

 

If you can't smell gas, I'd be looking at wiring between disty and ecs, and ecs and injectors.......

 

Haven't smelled the exhaust. Did check the plugs wires, thought they were off but I was wrong. Wire from dizzy to coil is OK. no clue how to check ECS wiring...

Haven't smelled the exhaust. Did check the plugs wires, thought they were off but I was wrong. Wire from dizzy to coil is OK. no clue how to check ECS wiring...

 

OK, well, try boosted84's suggestion - then we'll know if the injectors are getting a signal or not.

I used to have lots of problems with those cars.

The most common culprit was the fuel pump relay, followed closely by the crank angle sensor WIRES in the distributor, usually just the spade connectors, and the worst was a signal wire broken inside the insulation, at the coil.

The fastest check is to run a hotwire to the fuel pump and see if it starts. If it does, you can resolve it fairly quickly. If no change, you're in for a long week today.