THANKS! so much for the help. ill definitely check the battery. didn't think of that. however, the starter seems to turn over fine. is it possible for the starter to turn over fine, but hte battery not be producing enough juice for a good spark? the battery is relatively new, but it came with the car when i bought it a year ago.

as far as the responses aimed at the fuel pump...if the fuel pump or some fuel component was bad, wouldnt i have a solid spark and no fuel? is there anyway a failing fuel component, could induce a weak spark? initially i thought it was a fuel issue, but then i realized i had no spark and followed that path. in addition, after trying to start it for a while, i do smell a moderate fuel smell. so i think fuel is getting to the engine. and before i switched gears and went down the electrical path, i did listen for the fuel pumps engaging.

one thing that noone seems to know is how to test the output of the ignition amp? any ideas? do you need an oscilloscope for this?

thanks again for all the ideas.
-kh