I bought a 1998 Ford Ranger 2.5 4cyl that had a blown head; it was completely removed before I started working on it. I bought a brand new head and assembled it on the block with all the other parts (exhuast / intake etc..). I started the motor and the head rattled a little, so I figured the oil pump was bad. I replaced the oil pump and the rattle is gone, but the motor won't stay running. It acts like it's out of time, so I adjusted the timing about a dozen times and still will not stay running. I tried a new cam positioning sensor as well and same thing, the motor starts and sounds good for about 10 seconds and then seems like pressure builds up and it starts to sputter and eventually die. Then it won't start for like another 20 minutes. It still seems like it's out of time, but I've tried so many positions, it seems like I would have even accidentally got it right... Also, I made sure the position on the oil pump and crank were correct too, I'm stumped on this one.

Does anyone have ideas so I can troubleshoot this?

thanks,
Richard