As mentioned above, it sounds like electrical. And when you mention that it started once and died almost immediately, points to a bad ballast resistor, which is bypassed when the starter is turning. This means that once you let off on the starter, no juice will go to the coil due to the bad ballast resistor.
An easy fix is to take the ballast out of the system until you get it home.
Carl


1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission