ok, well lets see here, it won't start, what are the 3 things diesel needs to run
Compression
Timed Injection
Correct air fuel ratio
well were getting air, we are getting compression.....
so that leaves us with timed injection
when I give it a small shot of ether and crank it acts like it wants to start but doesnt
Your close....
You need -
HEAT
FUEL (at the right moment)
AIR.
HEAT can be missing. It can be due to inoperative glow plugs, slow cranking, or both.
FUEL will be present if you have smoke. No smoke = no fuel or no heat or no Air. - and it doesn't matter if it is timed or not. Even an engine out of time completely will smoke some from the fuel burning at any point in the compression stroke.
Air is the one that everybody always seems to have.
So figure out if you have smoke of some kind. If you do, then your know you have fuel coming out of the injectors. If your starter is spinning at the correct speed, and you have good compression, you will get smoke even without glow plugs. This you must determine before trying anything else.