You've seriously made my day with this thread.... I've been having this exact same issue since March!! were you ever able to figure it out?

 

Ive been having the same problem not wanting to start after headgasket. Valves were lapped and heads straight altho low compression was running okay even with the oil all mixxed and milky and exhaust pressure on coolant system, i refuse to blame the low compression for the fact that it was running before the work if enything the compression should have only improved with the work done but not sure, there is however a broken fuel pressure regulator vacum stem , seems to have been glued with a plastic adhesive, im leaning towards a fuel problem but it should atleast try to start if spray fuel down intake right its not even doing that after cheking timing marks i managed to make it run for 5 or 6 seconds but quickly shut of could it be that the timing is not right on the compression stroke. Does enyone have a cam picture on the correct stroke wile marks are on point? I assume they should be pointed away from one another with lobes off the valves for compression.

 

If your timing belt is right on the money, starter fluid might not work. There is a starter FI that will do the trick. its a lot of crap but it works in cases like yours. Take the cap / connector off and hot wire the injector for no more than 5 secs with the fuel pump running. Then hit the ignition to start. You just cannot get enough fuel into it from the plenum through the throttle body, you really need that injector to fire. A manual triggering does that for you. Now if you timing is off, or a valve is hanging out all bets are off. If a static compression test is below 90lbs (memory?) its not going to go. It sounds like you are off one tooth on one cam when you popped the tensioner, pulling a cam out of place. That's all it takes "one crummy tooth" and its dead.