I didn't even follow this thread very closely but I can tell you that
what you did was completely natural.  I work troubleshooting
computers/software/networks all day at work, and there are 5 of us
that do this.  It is very easy to follow down a road like you
did.  All of us fall into this error from time to time.  What I see
most often in my work is that when one cause of a symptom repeats 20
times, it is easy to jump to that diagnosis rather than once again
rule out all the other possible causes...

Edward

At 12:28 AM 12/30/2007, Vdub Guy wrote:
>Ok, I started a bit of a rift here today, for that I apologize.
>However, had I not pulled the distributor 2 weeks prior to pulling
>the fuel injectors for cleaning, this whole thing would not have
>happened. Yes, a couple of folks had mentioned checking for spark. I
>did develop tunnel vision here, and kept focusing on the fuel
>injectors, then the possibility the fuel pump may have been bad,
>then the possibility that I had fried not one, but 2 ecu's. This
>morning, after it seemed I had exhausted all other ideas, I did
>finally check for spark-there was none, which led me to pop the
>distributor cap off and I found I could turn the rotor 360, and I
>let out a combination of 4 letter words you wouldn't believe. I'm
>not new to working on cars, been doing it for 35 years. This is the
>3rd non running VW I have purchased and put back on the road. The
>last one was a '74 Westfalia that I purchased for $1,000.00. It had
>been sitting for 4 years. It had the nightmarish dual carbs that I rebu
>  ilt. I
>  completely re-did this Westy from bumper to bumper all by myself
> including paint for around $1,200.00 for a total investment of
> $2,200.00. I sold it back in June for $6,100.00, it looked that
> good. My current Vanagon I bought just over a year ago with a
> seized motor. I replaced the 1.9 with the current 2.1 following Jim
> Thompsons write up. Yes, I had to email Jim a few times with
> questions, and he was very helpful. I am by no means a professional
> mechanic, this is just my hobby. The only time in 35 years I've
> taken a car to a repair shop is for air conditioning-I won't mess
> with it. The worst job I've ever done on any of my vehicles was
> replace the heater core on a Chevy van-I hear the Vanagon heater
> core is a bear, trust me, it can't be as bad as a Chevy Van-whole
> dash had to come out, dropping the steering column, etc. The actual
> heater core replacement only took about 40 minutes, but a full day
> to get to it and another full day to put everything back. Anyway, I did screw
>  up big
>  time this week, and I sincerely thank those who offered help and
> support.     Jeff