'99 Olds 88 Not Starting - Ran out of gas & Cylinder 5 Misfire??

[Gremlins]

1999 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight 50th Anniversary Edition - 3.8 L - V6

30 day / 300 miles driving history:
Check engine light came on - code was PO305, cylinder 5 misfire.
Car recently had oil change & new battery, just previous to code coming on.
Filled car tank completely full with gas for the
first time in 6 months (18 gallons).
Car mpg started to decrease from 22mpg to 14 mpg.

Typically when the low fuel light comes on you can drive a good bit more miles before adding gas. Car was on low fuel, started right up, drove 2 blocks, got stuck behind school bus and it died.
Thought it was just out of gas, not sure though.
Put in 3 gallons and low fuel light is now off.
Car still wouldn't start.

Towed car and had new spark plugs / tune up done. Car still will not start.
Code is still showing as it appears cylinder 5 misfire may be the plug wire as it looks like it had gotten slightly burnt from the engine.

You can spray ETHER into the engine and that cranks, but car will not stay on.

What else can I try?

I.E. - Disconnect battery, charge battery, add more gas, fuel pump relay switch, maf, disconnect egr? Can I switch the 3 & 5 plug wires to attempt to start car/knock out PO305 code?

I'm unemployed so I have time to work on it, but don't have money to do much. Just paid car tag, insurance and my savings went to have it towed plus new plugs/tune up. Thanks for any help.

[Gremlins]

Still looking for some advice.

[Tech II]

So you filled up the gas tank, and you drove this vehicle with a misfire, and because of the misfire, your estimate of your gas mileage was way off, and you drove the vehicle until it ran out of fuel....

So after the horse was out of the barn, you decide to do a tuneup, but the vehicle still won't start...you have a misfire on #5, and you think it might be the wire......pull the wires off #5 and #2 coil terminals....you might find black corrosion due to arcing.....if you do, sand down the terminals until clean....clean the inside contacts of the wires, then use dielectric grease on the coil terminal, before installing the wires on them....this MAY take care of the misfire, if there was arcing on the coil terminals....otherwise, you need wires....

Now for the bad news......am I right in saying that your car will run if you spray ether into the intake(should use carb cleaner, less dangerous)? If yes, then it sounds like your fuel pump went south......If you have power at the connector to the fuel pump(should have power for 2 seconds by just turning key to on, and constant power when cranking) AND you have no fuel pressure on a gage attached to the fuel rail schraeder valve, then your pump is no good......

I know money is tight for you, but I don't recommend the cheaper aftermarkets....get OEM(original equiptment)....

[Gremlins]

The car has an 18 gallon tank so filling up isn't easy. I get 20 cents off a gallon once a month so I was waiting to fill up on April 1st. The check engine light came on, I had code checked 3 times, all showing the misfire in the middle of the March. Thinking a simple tune-up would solve that problem I was looking for a coupon so I could get it done.

Nearing the end of the month (March) I did the mpg calculation and realized I had dropped that much mpg since filling up the tank. Although I suppose I could've been dropping off prior to that since between all of Dec-Feb I had only driven a 2-5 miles a day if at all (same tank since Xmas).

Typically once the low fuel light came on I could go another 70 miles at least. Thus I was shocked when the car died. I put in a gallon of gas and it didn't start. I then got the car to a gas station and put in 2 more gallons and it still didn't start. Had the car towed and new spark plugs/tune up done. Still wouldn't start. The mechanic sprayed carb cleaner/ether (what they had) into the engine intake and it briefly cranks. Being a national repair place they aren't trying to help since they want me to pay them more money.

I had previously pulled the wire off the 5 and with the new plugs and it will not start. Although at this point would a bad wire still cause the car to not start?
I read I could switch the 3 & 5 wires and see if the code changes.

I would assume I have full power when trying to start. The gas gage goes up and everything seems normally other than starting.

I thought bad fuel pump after gas/new plugs/tune up, but would anything like a fuel pump relay switch, maf sensor, wires, resetting battery or egr help?
Could it be an 02 issue? I thought the exhaust looked a touch heavy the day before the car died, but with so much pollen here, figured it was just pollen kicking up.

A fuel pump of any kind installed from a non national repair place is going to run a minimum of what in this car?

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
I'll be online nonstop since with my allergies is too hard for me to go anywhere and I'm selling what little I can on ebay. Dale Earnhardt Jr. merc anyone?