Hardly Runs 2.0, changed head gasket

[stv4lil]

My dad gave me his old contour, after I overheated it and blew the head gasket. His fault because a hose went bad.....
Had the head milled .012 to true it up. Just got everything back together at V-School.
It will start, run up to 2000 rpm, then die. After a few start up's it did manage to idle (kinda at about 400 rpm) for about 10 seconds. It was also backfiring back thru the intake. After that time class was over.
Does anyone have a clue where I should start looking for the problem.
Any assistance will be appreciated.

 

[Tony2005]

Make sure spark plug wiring is in the correct order.

Zetec I-4 Spark Plug wiring order

Firewall
Engine 1 2 3 4 ... Coil 1 3
Radiator ............. ....4 2
Spark Plug gap 0.050 inch

Make sure it does not have a headgasket leak anymore.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=761

 

[AliasJerk]

that will do it, as tony said. I had a similar issue with my pre98 when I put a new coil pack on, I had gotten the 1 and 3 plugs backwards on the coil pack.

 

[striker2]

check the cam timing. if its a 98 or newer (98+) they can be very difficult to get timed properly. even pre98s can be difficult if you dont have the proper tools (which im willing to bet you probably dont).

 

[mcgarvey]

Backfiring through the intake indicates that the timing was set incorrectly. This is almost definitely your problem. Did you use the proper holding tool when setting the timing?

 

[AliasJerk]

cam timing is something I didnt think about, its a bit of a PITA to get it JUST right on the zetec. I think Bill and I had to do it like 5-6 times before we got it right.

 

[mcgarvey]

The ONLY way a fuel injected car can backfire through the intake is if the timing is off, and I mean way off.