ford escort zeytec 97 no spark

Hi i have an escort that wouldnt fire,i changed the ignition pack, crank senor,leads it run then but when i pressed the throttle it misfired.I then pulled the plug off the air intake switch not the mass airflow.it then stalled an hence no spark so i thought maybe the coil pack had failed i tryed another no joy so fitted a brand new one,still no spark.could it be that the ecu needs rebooting,is there a way of doing this ive got an ignition live to the pack put bugger all in the way of a spark.:banghead: a mate of mine recons its the cat blocked telling the ecu not to fire

My Escort is a 94, so maybe different from a 97, and the UK escorts were different anyway, (besides the steering wheel location), .......
However; you dont 'reboot' the PCM as far as I know, and the PCM wouldnt know or care about the cat.conv. being blocked. A totally blocked catilytic converter would prevent the car from driving any distance, but it would start up easily enough.
If your Throttle Position Switch is bad, that might prevent it from running, but just the process of the engine cranking around (with the starter) should result in there being a spark; since the pcm gets its signal for this purpose from the crankshaft position sensor.
I think the UK escorts have an 'igniter', like the ones in the U.S. do. This is a small black item located close to the strut tower, near the battery. Its job is to fire the ignition coil pack, based on a signal from the PCM. It is the thing that does the advancing and retarding of the spark, like the vacuum advance and centrifugal advance would do in cars old enough to have distributors. The ignitors are pricey if you buy a new one, but they are fairly reliable - and can be found pretty easily in junkyards. At least they can over here in the U.S. I carry an extra one in both of my Escorts.
Also, could there be a bad fuse (not blown, but having corroded contacts) in the little fuse box that is also near the battery?

Is the timing off?

Could be a broken timing belt.