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No luck with the starting fluid trick. Not a cough. So it wasn't the fuel injectors not injecting. My inability to detect injector pulses when cranking over was meaningless.
I go all around checking grounds and so on. Crank it to test several times but no start.
A little before 1am, inspiration strikes. I check the notch on the circular rim of the distributor, below the rotor. It seems to be pointing more toward the center of the engine than I expected. I compare it to the relative angle of the distributor notch on my 91 245. That one is pointing approximately toward the center of the cooling fan. A noticeable difference.
I go back to the 244, loosen the distributor hold down bolt, and try to move the distributor, but it has been set in one spot for years, apparently. With careful tapping and twisting, I finally get it to shift bit by bit, and slowly rotate it counter-clockwise at least an inch.
I crank the engine and nothing happens for four seconds, then the car abruptly starts up. It is idling way too fast, and the idle speed 'hunts' dramatically as the ECU/ICU compensates periodically for some inbalance, but the engine is running relatively smoothly on four cylinders and doesn't stall.
I look and listen to it running for about five minutes. Suddenly steam come shooting out of the engine compartment. I shut it off. The thermostat must have opened and the new water pump is leaking at the joint where the pipe enters it from the back. My mistake installing the new rubber seal, and coolant was pouring out on the hot engine. But it runs.
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