I finally got back out to the garage and put in new spark plugs and a new manifold gasket. I checked the wire order (it was right) and started the engine. It ran rough, so I got out and pulled the #4 wire again. Right away the engine smoothed out and I throttled down. Every time I touched the wire to the plug the engine coughed or backfired, so I left it off. The engine was running nicely enough that I put it in gear and drove forward and backwards a couple of times (First Movement under Power!) So that's good.
After I shut down I noticed the exhaust pipe coming out of the manifold assembly was very loose and there were a few rust holes in the muffler. Also there is no tail pipe past the muffler. Could this be part of the #4 cylinder problem, or do I still need to check out the compression? I'm hoping to drive the beast over to a nearby mechanic and let him do a check up.
