Mine did the exact same thing when I first got it (88 300TE). After finally getting fuel to flow and getting spark, still no start. For me, it turned out to be a bad fuel distributor that was allowing too much fuel to flow beyond the right mix for combustion. The center valve in the distrbutor was worn down below tolerance allowing fuel to flow by it flooding out the engine. Got a used one off ebay complete on the housing with sensor plate and it started up on first try. A lot of people told me that it couldn't be the problem because they don't ware out that bad, but....the car is running now and that is all I changed...... Good Luck