im trying to avoid going to a local garage and getting screwed for all my $$$

when i turn the key into the on pos. i hear the "hum" of the fuel pump in the back, but i dont seem to be getting spark... it revs real strong but just wont turn over... what do i check next?

 

Where are you testing for spark? At the plugs? It could be a bad distrubutor, or even a bad coil.

If those are all good, I'd look into crank position and cam position sensors.

 

That's not a vey good description of whats going on. First check for spark. Check that it is getting gas to the fuel rail. After you check for spark at the plugs if it isnt getting spark keep going back to till you get to the coil. May as well check that your air filter isn't totally clogged up. Check to see if coil is getting power. I'm not totally sure but I think it should not have power with the ignition on. It is energized when it is supposed to fire.
I had a similar problem. My coil was getting something like 4 or 5 volts always. I went almost crazy trying to find the problem. Finally I found a very small 20 amp fuse in the box under the hood that was blown.
My fuel pump was constantly running, the fuel guage did not work or any of the other ones if i remember correctly.
Other than that check the crank position sensor and all of your wire connections on everything.
In my case I found my o2 sensor wires wrapped around my driveshaft somehow. I don't know if that blew my fuse or not. I have heard of a problem with the computer on the firewall having a screw that pokes in to far and can cause a short.
I hope this helped. Its hard to diagnose without being there.

 

crank position sensor is a very likely culprit.

 

i'm a noob when it comes to ignition electronics and what not... sorry guys, i'm trying to find the cps lol

 

I think its at the back of the motor, sorta close to the distributor. I could be wrong. My haynes isn't in front of me, otherwise I'd look.

 

X2 on CPS
Its located on the top of the transmission bell housing
Very hard to reach.

 

The CPS is on the driver side of the bellhousing at about the 11 oclock position.

 

Either search this forum, or Google it. Teh interwebs has a lot of information on this topic.

Very common problem with our Jeeps. The part costs around 80 bucks and it can be a pain to swap out, but it is definitely a DIY job.

 

mine was 30, but mines a renix