2002 Frontier will not idle or run

[eyemall]

: I have a 2002 Nissan Frontier 2.4l . It spent all the time during the recent snowy icy weather here sitting. I started it regularly to keep the battery charged. Once the weather gave me a chance to I dug out our driveway and I planned to drive it to work. I made it as far as the road we live off of before it started to shudder and die. It would after that idle but would not accelerate. Now it will not idle or run at all. I have changed the fuel filter and it is pumping gas at least to the filter. But it's not getting any pressure to the test port. I have taken the return line off the pressure regulator and cycled the pump. Fuel is bypassing the regulator. My question is: should it be bypassing a large amount like it is and is that why it is showing no pressure at the test port? It isn't showing any codes other than a cat and egr code it already had. As long as I'm cranking it it tries to start.
TIA

[VStar650CL]

The first thing to do is verify it's a fuel issue. Pop the top off the airbox and spray something combustible like Brakleen or Gumout down the barrel. Don't use ether, that can damage the engine and/or light your hair up with a backfire flamethrower. If it starts and runs on Brakleen then you know it's fuel-starved, if the Brakleen has no effect then you know you're barking up the wrong tree.

I'm not sure what you mean by a test port, but the one under the hood isn't a fuel line, it's for smoking the evap system to check for leaks. To check fuel pressure at the engine you need to split the line from the fuel rail. Unless you suspect a line blockage, it's easier to simply check on both sides of the fuel filter.