Quote:

Making sure cylinder one is TDC.



My guess is still that valve timing is off.

The big three need to be in order for an engine to start.

1) Start by checking the spark. Remove a spark plug, reconnect a wire to it and ground it. Have somebody crank the engine while you look to see if it is sparking.

Got Spark?

2) Fuel. You've already checked this one. You've said that there is a gas smell while cranking. We can safely assume you are getting gas.

Got Fuel?

3) Compression. Do you have a compression tester? Check the compression by removing all of the plugs. Crank the engine and look for compression at each cylinder. If you are low on some/all cylinders, I'd suspect crank to valve timing is off. (especially when you reported backfiring).

Got compression?

Even if the rings are worn to an extreme, the engine will still fire and run, albeit with a lot of smoke rolling off the exhaust.

Just make very sure that the cam and crank are properly phased. I have the '97 Ford Automobile CD and am in the process of looking up the valve timing setting procedures. Stay tuned....