Crank, no start after DIY top end rebuild?

I own the vehicle listed above that I did a top end rebuild on over the past year with a mechanic friend while time allowed. It was running good before the rebuild (despite leaking heads). got it all back together after doing a head job, timing belt, water pump, plugs, all that stuff. It sat for a year with low gas as i slowly worked on it. I tried to start it the other day and it didn't fire up. Just cranked. Might of had bad gas too at this point as it seemed to be getting gas initially, but there was a leak in a connection, then no fuel after trying it again. I have a fuel issue and possibly a timing issue (possible distributor cap/rotor placement). Getting power to the fuel pump when cranking only, not when in the on position (which i hear is normal for this vehicle), but not getting fuel to the engine anymore....no fuel pressure i don't think. Need to test the pump with my battery still...
i have spark, but no start even when spraying starting fluid. It's cranking but seems a bit slow and hard to use the timing light because of this. My engineer/mechanic buddy seemed fairly confident that the timing wasn't the issue. But I was told by a couple guys with these Monty's at TDC on #1 Cylinder that the rotor should be pointing at the firewall because of the way the cap is designed. maybe the issue? Need to address the fuel issue and also the other issue. I changed the fuel filter after all of this and added some new gas as well. I imagine it should start up while spraying ether into the intake though, but no. So, I have more than one issue.