Pontiac Repair: 96 Bonnie - Repaired, now not starting, head gasket repair, mechanic friend

Question
I have a 96 Pont Bonnie SE with a K code 3800 series 2 motor.  I blew an intake gasket and drove it back to my shop 2 miles.  I pulled the car into the shop and tore it down and put it back together with new intake gaskets, new belt tentioner, and new starter (broke the nose off???).  When I got everything put back together, it had been a couple of months with the battery unhooked.  I have checked the injectors with a noid light, spark and fuel to the fuel rail...all good.  I asked a mechanic friend and he told me that most likely the computer(s) would need to be reprogrammed.  Asked the dealership and they said there might not be enough pressure in the fuel rail and they can look at it for $92 plus a tow bill of close to $250.

My question is what you think could be the cause and how do I go about testing and repairs?

Thanks,
Dan

Answer
Hi Dan:

Well you need three things for an engine to run. Spark,Fuel and compression. check to make sure you have spark on all 6 cylinders an nice hot blue spark. You said you have an injector drive on all 6 cylinders so that is good. Next is fuel pressure that engine needs about 44 PSI to run correctly. If you have that then check compression none of the cylinder should be more then 10% less then the highest compression cylinder.  If you lacking compression you have an engine mechanical issue. If this had an issue with a head gasket probelm and coolant leaked into one of the cylinders it could have washed down that cylinder or damaged the cylinder wall. If you have one that is low put a few drops of engine oil into the cylinder and chech to see if the compression comes back up. If this sat for a long enoughtime the lifters could have bled down and your not getting full lift from the cam that could be an issue also but not likley. other then that I assume you hooked everything back up that was disconnected from the head gasket repair including ground wires? reporgramming the engine computer is not going to fix your issue here. Good luck :)