Just thought I'd give an update and final post as this one is solved. Indeed it was the ignition coil. As a last "what if" attempt, I went ahead a replaced the ignition coil even though it tested good on an ohm meter. I have seen coils test good before and still not produce spark, so I decided to give it a go. The truck fired right up and cleared out all the gas in the cylinders from all the cranking. I'll have to change the oil in case any fuel got down in the crankcase, but I test drove it and checked for codes (97s have a built in DTC checker via switching the ignition on and off a few times). One code came up and that was a 1 2, which is the same as P1195 or slow O2 sensor. I doubt it has to do with a massive amount of pollution coming out of the exhaust at start up, as the PCM doesn't begin normal O2 sensor readings until the engine is up to normal operating temperature. Just in case I'll clear the code and check it again in a few days. If the same code pops again... I guess I'll be wrenching some more!! Thanks for the help.