The vacuum that runs off an air compressor is not suitable for this job.

You need to check for leaks before you put refrigerant into the system.
The best way is to borrow or rent a Nitrogen bottle and get four ounces of R22...
You will need some way to detect that R22 as it leaks out..then you will need to fix those leaks...
Can you check with the PO and see if you can get more information ?
Have you checked the fuses for the fan inside the car ?
Are all your knobs turned towards COLD , Max AC, etc ?

I can contact the PO but when I bought the car almost exactly a year ago he told me in the time he owned it the A/C never worked and he never looked into it. I think he owned it for 2 years which would put the A/C not working back to 2004. The R134a sticker is dated 2000 or 2001, I 'll have to recheck.

I know the compressor pump can't pull the full vacuum but I thought I read on here that it was adequate and that others had used.

I do have the knobs on air and max. Last year I had some issues with the ACC so I purchased another and it has worked well. I don't recall specifically if I tried the A/C with the ACC last year but I definitely tried it this year while it was 40-50F outside just to check it!

Fuses inside the car? Not the fuse panel? Like the strip fuse on the blower? The blower works for heat, so I would assume it works for A/C??

I'm assuming a Nitrogen bottle rental would occur at an A/C shop? or autoparts store?