96 metro causing me problems

ok... I have a 96 metro... it is a 1.0 liter with 80,000 miles on it... my check engine light has been on for a long time now and my mechanic did a few things and it still didnt go off.... but... it wouldnt start so i bought a new rotor button and put it on even though I just put one on last summer when I did a tune up on the car... but it started so i had hoped the problem was over... but to no avail... the car had idling problems and would die if you didnt give it a little gas while idling... ( i recently had the fuel filter replaced) so i went and had it put on a computer and the code was for the camshaft position sensor... of which.. mine doesnt have.. and the pickup coil acts as the sensor... so.. I got another one... the one that came off of the car had a dust cover on the pick up coil.... the new one didnt have one... so before I put it on.. I called a few shops and they all said that it didnt matter it wasnt a necessary thing... so... I put it on there.. got all excited about getting to drive my metro... put everything back together.. got in fired her up... then nothing... and I do mean nothing.... it wont even try to start.....it clicked but that was it..... now... for the dumbness of myself... I did work on it yesterday.... and leave the neg terminal off all night with the positive still on... but everyone says that that wont have an effect on it.... i took the new pickup coil off and put the old one back on thinking maybe there was something wrong with it... but still... nothing.... does anyone have a suggestion..... I am gonna have to walk 22 miles (to and from) 2 days a week starting next week if I dont get this fixed... (and no I am not kidding..... ( and yes that was meant to pull at your heart strings.... (sorry..... I am not normally like that.. but... I cant help it at this point.... I just got into nursing school and I have to go or I will get kicked out and have to wait a year again......) Thanks to anyone who replies...

Play with the wires behind the starter. They have a tendancy to corrode, and loosen up. Tap the starter with a hammer, and it might free up. They have a tendancy to get stuck sometimes. Also, make sure your spark plug wires are on in the right order. And make sure the ground line that goes from the distributor to the firewall is on! The starter, and motor will not run without it.

hello again.. I tried all of that... to no avail though... the radio comes on, lights come on.... but nothing else other than that..... I promise.. the only thing I did was remove the distributor cap, the rotor button the distributor seal the pick up assembly and then put it all back just the way I took it off..... twice... I didnt bother anything else other than the wires to the pickup assembly and the wire from the distributor to the ignition coil... and then I had the negative terminal undone all night long... other than that... I didnt touch a thing..... :crying:

run a diagnostics again if you can. i would guess that there is some other problem unseen causing it to not start.

well.... thanks guys for your help...... I got it started though..... even though it was a new battery (3 months old) and the terminals looked clean... I got bored... poured some coke on them.. (they sprayed that red stuff on them when i bought them) and it started right up...... so.. thanks a bunch.....