Is it making spark the whole time you are cranking? sounds like it could be the ic igniter. Assuming all your connections are tight. The breather situation should not affect anything electrically and the engine should at least try to run even if it's messed up. The IC igniter is tough to diagnose. Mine simply failed and the engine had no spark no matter what. I've heard that some come and go for a bit before checking out forever. Lemme know if you need an igniter, I've got the plans to make one yourself for cheap and it works, I've been using one for almost 2 years now.

xrtim@sbcglobal.net