1914 Hard to Start

[Ed in Maine]

Got the T out for the first time this summer. Very hard to start, hand cranked. I had some trouble last summer and the compression is not the greatest. This is the work that has been done:
1. Removed the head, had the head surfaced, new head gasket
2. Lapped the valves and they did look good, no burn out damage and installed new valve springs.
3. Installed Helicoils in all holes and torqued to 45-48 ft-lbs., used head gasket sealer.
4. Checked cylinder compression: #1 @ 38 lb.s, #2 @ 41 lb.s, #3 @ 37 lb.s and #4 @ 37 lb.s. The engine was slightly warm.

On the first start, I hand cranked the engine 5 times, ignition off with choke. I turned on the ignition and the engine jumped but did not start. With more hand cranks the engine just popped once and stopped. Two more cranks with choke and with choke off, the engine just popped once and did not start. I must have repeated this process six or seven times before the engine finally stayed running. This is a lot of work and the car was much better years ago.

What do you think? I'm beginning to wonder if there are other problems such as fuel supply or dirty timer problems. I hate to blindly take things apart when the item is unrelated to the starting problem.

Any suggestions are appreciated. I hate to take the car very far from home in fear that I will stall it and not be able to get it running again. Yesterday after I got the car running, it was fine, drove it a couple of miles and no overheating. Thanks for your help. Ed