NEEd HELp

[chuck0960]

so i worked on it a little more tonight. it will crank just fine, getting fuel because you can start to smell it (kinda like partially burnt) coming from the exhaust. checked the timing again and set it just to be positive. when cranking it it will spit and sputter a tad bit every now and again. did some more checking and it could possibly be spark problem. put a spark tester on it and while cranking it only received one or two weak sparks on plug #1. but when you look at the plugs you can see a little black on them where they have been firing. so what would be a good start for the findings of the problem??
and also i just put new NGK Iridium plugs in it and a buddy of mine told me the car might not run with these plugs.....could this be true? i didnt think it could be since the parts store found them under my car in the computer and ordered them that way.
and also..crank sensor?? is there one? and where? couldnt this be a problem to not starting