car died ???

I think you meant to say 'It would not just crank over, but would also try to start'

That is a good sign.. It means you probably have spark, although maybe weak or not at the right timing. A cheap spark tester can help you determine if you still have spark after it dies and fails to restart. It wont tell you much about spark or valve timing.

Yours sounds more like a fuel delivery problem to me. I would get some starting fluid and get someone to help me. Take off the air filter, and see if you can start the car. If not, spray some of the starting fluid into the air filter holder and see if that allows it to start. Or, if it does start, let it idle until it dies, and then see if you can restart it with the starting fluid spray.

If you can nail down that it is a fuel delivery problem, then you can concentrate your efforts on finding out why it is failing.