I had hard starting issues for a while and my truck was parked by the PO for at least 19 years before I got to fiddle with it. You mentioned using ether to try to start it.... Everything I've read here says that ether/starting fluid is about the worst thing you can put in an engine, especially for repeated uses on something that won't start... The most I did was dump a little gas down the carb, before I got the ignition sorted out.