If all else fails I might get frustrated and pull out the ether

ether is hard on an engine. Be careful.
Maybe try a bit of gas in the intake first.

But I would go with your first thought. Check for spark.

I checked it for spark this morning and it has a strong spark, I'm gonna pull the plugs tonight and see how they look before trying ether

Temps are waaay low today, so that's not going to help.

If polishing doesn't work, you could always Plasti Dip those wheels!!

I did mine last year
before:
http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2aead077.jpg

Process:
http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...ps98c353e5.jpg

After:
http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7b33a764.jpg

That actually looks pretty good, love the masking job

Was it a spray on product?

Ya, comes in a spray can, easy to apply especially with the cards. Ive seen it done without the cards, they just peel it off the tire when done. Best part, if you don't like it, it peels off with a bit of elbow grease. Comes in different colors as well. I used 3 cans to do mine, the better the coverage, the easier it is to remove. Its durable too, car washes dont affect it at all. I think you can get a gloss to finish if you dont like the matte finish. Think we got it from auto value, can't remember the price. I did remove it from my wheels as the black didn't work with my color scheme. Might redo this year in the smoked grey.

How old of a car is it ?

I would be hesitant on either as well but...

Curious to see if the fuel pump is running when you cycle the key,

Turn the key in and listen for a hum from the fuel tank.

It's a 98 suburban with 198000km on it

Got it running at 3:30am this morning

Pulled the plugs, cleaned them all, turned it over a few times with no plugs in

Put it all back together and voila, she fired

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/08/bybazupe.jpg

(Ya the Burban is beat up)

good work!
:biggrin: