98 safari spark and fuel still no start

[duck]

Hello. this all started several years ago, van would try to start when wet or moisture, but not catch, smell gas, fuel pressure at 60psi. always eventually started, but about a week ago, fouled out the plugs and now will not even try to catch, have run down the battery several times. changed the coil, as all of the posts say this is often the culprit, no change. towed to shop, mechanic says he used a "spark box" on it that bypasses everything, along with ether and cannot get it to fire up, even with newly installed spark plugs...I am at a loss, mechanic gave up on it.. had it towed back home and now do not know where to go from here. I have found 50+ versions of this scenerio with many multiple solutions. I cannot believe these things are SO complex that it takes a virtual army to get it to run again. I am out of time and solutions, and I need help. The most frustrating thing is our 95 astro has 407k and counting and to me seems much simpler than this one. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Brian.

[justice]

my neighboor has a 99AWD Astro that was giving him fits. Same symptoms you are having. He replaced the fuel pump, had good pressure, had spark, but it was a crap shoot if it would start. He finally replaced his distributor cap and rotor with OEM AC/Delco parts fro the dealer and it has not missed a beat since.

When my 04 Astro dies on me one day and would not restart, it was the cap and rotor as well.

Also check your ignition module. Hope this helps and welcome to ASV!

[MountainManJoe]

What kind of mechanic gives up.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

You are better off getting a different mechanic...one who has a better idea of what's going on!

Get AC Delco cap and rotor and plug wires from your local GM dealer or online at a place like Rock Auto. You may want new plugs too as the mechanic may not have installed the right ones. Don't waste your time with parts from say Autozone or Advance Auto. They simply won't last very long.

[duck]

I'll give it a shot.. thanks!

[duck]

What kind of mechanic gives up.

NOT a good one, that's for sure!!!!