Crank but no start, 2000 silverado 4.3l
 

Firstly good morning and thanks in advance.

My 2000 chevy 1500 v6 after sitting only for a few days would just crank and crank and wont turn over. battery is new (however there could be a slight drain) and it doesn't sound like its dying when trying to crank.
I dont smell fuel when cranking, swapped FP relay and stuff with the horn one which I knew worked and still nothing checked other fuses such as ecm and anything that seemed motor related.

Weird thing was It happened about a week ago and I kept trying over and over to crank it, until my neighbor offered to help jump it to see if that helped and before we even put the cables on it randomly fired right up!!! I let it run for like 15 mins to charge back up the battery in case it was dying, and it ran completely fine. So i'm assuming the fuel pump works, while it was running fine i pulled the fuel pump relay and it died (not sure if this is a proper way to ensure it is working).

Few days later and its the same thing. I haven't had anyone to help me but I cant tell if I can hear the fuel pump priming over the sound of the dumb door chime lol. If fuel pump was bad why would it run fine once it decided to actually turn over like it did days before?
Could it be fuel pressure? Not sure if the gauge on the dash means anything but with just KOIO it stays at 0, when cranking it shoots right up to about half way or more on the dash, as soon as I stop cranking the dash gauge shoots right down (I haven't been able to get my hands on the Fuel pressure gauge checker, and admittedly Im not the most mechanically inclined however I am trying to learn). Also when cranking the rpm's dont move (I saw on youtube some people say it is supposed to, I am trying to get my youtube certification on, but figured I'll ask you fine folks as well).

I can only assume spark, fuel, and all that is fine because that one time it turned on it literally ran like it always has, no problem at all. Could it possibly still be the battery due to the slight drain? would a bad battery crank over and over and over without sounding like its dying? Grounds?

Can anyone point me in any direction? pictures/labels of anyhting would be most appreciative :)

Welcome from Florida. Is the check engine light on? If it is this could lead you in the right direction. I would also try the crank sensor as I have seen in the past your symptoms with a bad crank sensor and no check engine light. The rpm gauge gets it signal from the crank sensor so that is another clue as to what it might be.

Have someone key on (not all the way to start) while you listen for pump running by the fuel tank. If it's running, try key on & off several times to prime fuel lines before trying to start.

Im from FL also! and thank you, hopefully thats an easy fix. There was no CEL when I plugged it in but I havent ran it much since I cleared it last time for an EVAP code. Is there a way to tell if its bad, or is it just a replace and hope for the best?

Thanks, I'll do this as well. I tried turning the key and then hoping out quick and running to the tank but I hear nothing. Is it possible since the tank is half full that I wont hear it as much??

You should be able to hear it hum if standing by the tank

Check the engine to frame and body ground straps.

IIRC there is a test port on the fuel rail and Harbor Freight will sell you a cheap tester for around $20.