ok folks. had some time after work today to tinker. I was picking up all filters and the overflow valve at the dealer and said fck it, i wanted to put a new lift pump as well incase that one ever crapped out, i'd have an extra during a snow storm. the overflow valve ended up being the culprit! went out there next morning, cycled the pre heater twice and she fired off like a cannon. The previous owner mentioned he never, ever, sprayed starting fluid to get it going. He did say on cold mornings, it was common to have to pre-heat 2-3 times. is that pretty standard? when its very cold, its not that enjoyable sitting there for 50sec cycles lol. Maybe the preheater is getting weak?