I found the ECU only one flash when I first turned it to the two position

 

Just taking a step back, you have not eliminated spark, fuel, timing, or compression as the root cause. I think you need to step back and repeat some tests to give you direction.

Was any recent work done on the car before you had the starting issue? Or an accident, or you filled up the gas tank?

To eliminate fuel as a problem, have an assistant spray starter fluid into the throttle body (remove the snorkel first) while you try to start the car.

You see spark when you pull the plugs, so you either have good spark or weak spark. I'd pick up a spark tester like Lisle LIS50850 that most part stores should have. You can increase the gap to see if the spark is strong enough to jump the gap.

Do you have a compression tester? Volt meter? Test light?

 

Ok sounds like a plan. Thank you.
No recent work has been done I will put a caveat on that thought as we have only had it for about 2 months. Up until now we haven't had any starting issues. It has been filled a few times most recently just before this not starting issue. the first thing we did was change the fuel filter in the engine compartment.

I don't have a compression tester, I do have a multimeter, and I could rig a test light if I needed to.

I won't be able to work on it until Thursday so, I will try the starter fluid then.

Thank you for your help.

 

I wonder if you have bad gasoline? Try siphoning the tank and adding several gallons of fresh gasoline?

 

Are the spark plugs wet with gas?

 

starter fluid did not result in it starting it continues to turn over but never starts. The couple of times we’ve pulled the plugs after trying to start it. They have been wet. I will try and check now.

 

OK, here’s something crazy. I tried for a half an hour to get it started and it wouldn’t start. It has been 2 1/2 hours or so I have left it alone and we went out and just on a whim decided to try it and it started right up and is currently running. I was able to shut it off and started again. I don’t know if this helps with any diagnostics or direction.

 

Do you drive the car once you get it running? Does it have normal power, or does it run poorly?

 

Yes ran it for 15-20 minutes just sitting then drove it. It drives like it should as far as I can tell, normal power and acceleration. I will try it again in the morning, I am not holding my breath though.

 

The engine running normally when it starts rules out compression and mechanical timing, because you would have those problems all the time. This could still be fuel or a spark issue. This is also tricky, because it is intermittent.

Your spark plugs were wet when pulled, so the fuel pump is running and the injectors are opening. Could be bad gasoline from the last fill-up or the injectors are opening up for too long and dumping excess fuel into the engine.

You saw a spark before when you pulled the plugs, so I don't know. Reinstall the original igniter in the distributor if you still have it? Your engine block could have a bad ground, so try using jumper cables to jump the block to the negative battery post.

This could also be an ECU problem, where the ECU isn't sending the correct signal to the distributor to fire the spark plugs or switch the injectors. Electrical testing is possible, but you'd almost need an oscilloscope to figure out if the injectors or the distributor is getting a proper signal.