That said, if the engine will run when you provide a fuel source it sort of establishes that the ignition and other engine needs are at least minimally OK. I would be looking for step 1 above, then checking for codes to see if I can gain a clue to the trouble, Anti-theft system, checking any fuses that are related to engine management, especially anything labeled Injector or ECM, water in the fuel, Mass Air Flow Sensor not hosed, massive air leaks, plugged fuel filter, skipped timing chain etc...
As to this comment "he said it could be the fuel injection being clogged up could he be right?" I would think NOT, unless they are plugged with sugar or sand or some such juvenile prank.
it might be the fuel regulator on the fuel rail under the hood ! if it gos bad then the injectors can,t get enough gas to start the engine !
Mike is right. You need to check the actual fuel pressure of the fuel rail in order to assess if the car is actually getting any fuel in the first place. The fuel pump can prime and get all sorts of power, but if the fuel pressure is zero then there is no chance of the car starting. The timing of the fuel injectors could be the problem but id say it was fairly unlikely as the car would run just not very smoothly as the spark plugs were igniting fuel that had dispersed in the chamber a little more than usual .... I had a similar problem with my car and all it took was time in order for it to fix itself. Literally the next day I had the towing service go to pick up the car and the car started up fine with no indication as to why it wouldnt start in the first place. Fuel pressure gauges can be bought or borrowed from a car garage and either spliced into your fuel line or hooked up to a 'test port' or metal nipple along the fuel rail that is designed for testing fuel pressure. Obviously you'd need a reference for what your fuel pressure should be for that particular car, but somewhere in the ball park of 30psi is usually an educated guess ... good luck! :)
Fuel filter?
Family friend somewhat fixed our car, he got the fuel pump replace which works now cause fuel pressure is present not like before, tried to start the engine although it cranks it's tries to but just can't but when he does put gasoline directly into the engine it does run for a bit but dies eventually (that's one alternate method to check if fuel pump is not working without using fuel pressure gauge or other means) there's electricity going through the spark plugs which is good, he said it could be the fuel injection being clogged up could he be right?
