I just bought a 89 Firebird with a 2.8L engine...
It was pretty hard to get it started...I was never sure what the problem was...I though it was gthe starter because the car turned ON (the radio + A/C + gauges work) but it doesnt turn over and crank on...it doesnt even click or anything...At first it did crank and turn over after messing with it for a while...but latelly i have not been able to at all...
I also noticed that the the car turns ON even without the key on the ignition cylinder...it rotates as if it had the key in it...but does not crank on

Last time I got it to turn on it runned great...the tranny shifts perfectly and only has 80K miles on engine...after the engine warmed up...the car started perfectly time after time ( i though the problem was fixed for good)
But after letting it sit there overnight...It would not crank again...idk what to do...Please HELP!!

I though maybe the Vats went off since cylinder is messed up but the engine did turn on when i messed around with it last time...and the light is not on the gauge...but i think its still a posibility

 

You can always bypass the VATS to find out.

https://www.thirdgen.org/vats