I have a 305 5.0 V8 formula firebird thats been having starting issues. the symptoms are, * if the engine gets cold it wont start [when I say wont start I mean it does nothing at all, except for a faint whining noise that seems to be coming from the other end of the steering coulomb opposite to the driver, that Ive just recently discovered] * if you wait after the initial starting failure for around 5-10 minutes it will start usually * if that doesnt work a jump from another car will suffice. * you can hotwire the starter and it will do what its supposed to do [which is good bc I just replaced it in hopes of fixing this problem] but it wont fire [NO DAS BOOT! :[ all (most) of the electrical components of the car work with the exception of the things that never worked the entire time Ive had the car (ex. power locks, passenger window, automatic trunk button, brights, the lights along the P/N/R/OD/D/2/1 occasinally wont work but have been for the past two days, and you have to hold the fog lights for as long as you want them to be on.) I have replaced the positive cable on the battery, or at least the half that connects to the battery, bc it was striped and I thought that might be the problem. I was however, wrong bc my car continued to do exactly what it was doing 2 weeks before the next day to my dismay. I have also replaced the starter with a reconditioned one from autozone, and I have checked the fuses that I thought might be responsible for this issue. Its a beautiful car, and Id hate to see it sitting in a junkyard, but I fear if this continues that may be where she's destined to be. is there anyone who could contribute their theory of how to fix my car to prevent this? :/ Thanks, -Brandon

Let's take it one by one:
1) starter circuit - troubleshooting article here: http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=38 It will help you identify the faulty component.
2) door locks - they use the ACC fuse and the PWR ACC breaker - check them. If they are alright, follow this troubleshooting article: http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=32
3) passenger window - swap the window switches - if the window malfunction changes sides, it's the switch. If not, it's the wiring or motor.
4) brights - the hi/lo beam switch is very commonly out of adjustment - article on how to adjust it here: http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=16
5) for lights - not sure what year Firebird you have (they used different switches, IIRC) but it sounds just like a bad switch.

Hope this helps.
Lou

ok I finally got her up and running again. it turns out it was the vats system after all. thank you so much for the help lou! it was very usefull! Im on my way to returning my car to its former glory. :]

-Brandon