trying to get a 2000 Ford Taurus running.

I just bought a 2000 Ford Taurus for $600. The guy I got it from said it hasn't been cranked up in 3 years. This is what I have done so far. New battery, flushed the coolant, and oil change. It tries to turn over but won't. I know nothing about cars. I'm an aircraft mechanic in the air force. So I figured I could work on cars if I wanted to. A little bit harder than I thought, with not knowing anything about them. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Forgot to mention that it had a 1/4 of a tank of gas in it. I put in another 1/4 of a tank just to make sure that the gas needle was working properly.

You need to narrow down fuel, ignition etc. Any check engine light?
Spark? Pull a plug and wire, put it next to engine block, crank and look for spark?
If yes, check fuel.
Fuel? Try starting with starting fluid in the air intake.

Simple suggestion, have you tried giving it gas when you try to start it? Sometimes when these cars have sat for awhile they simply have trouble starting.

But yeah, check spark and fuel as well.

I tried to crank it again today it turned over for 10 secs then shut off. I took a spark plug out and there was sparks. What can I do to check the fuel? Thanks for all the help.

A fuel pressure tester connected to the Schrader valve on the fuel rail will help determine if it is getting proper fuel pressure. It will not however tell you if the 50% mixture of 3 year old fuel is sufficiently flammable though.

Was the spark plug damp when you removed it from the cylinder? If so, you're probably getting fuel.

-Rod

Might be a little late on this, just joined the forums today. I'm not very auto-savvy but from my experience(happened to my car) it could be the fuel pump. It wasn't turning over, it had actually stalled on me then refused to turn over after that. As someone mentioned, it could be the fuel pressure. I would try starting fluid(as mentioned) and if it works then check the fuel pump. My car's pump went out and once it was replaced it worked beautifully.
Good luck :)