I'm not too keen on trying ether. I don't want to do any unecessary damage or blow my face off.

It seems the consensus here is that the glow plugs are likely the culprit.

I'm really hoping I didn't total my engine driving it on low oil. It had optimum oil when I left Chicago and the oil pressure gauge gave a normal reading the entire trip. I don't think the little bulb in the dash burnt out.

Thanks for all the help/advice so far. I will post updates once I make some progress.