I have a 96 f150 with the 4.9l. It has been randomly cutting off on me for a few weeks now and not wanting to crank back up for 15 to 30 mins. The last time it did this it took about 4 hours to crank. Then I came out a few more hours later to see if it would still crank but it wouldnt. Seeing as I've has fuel pump issues before on this truck I immediately replaced that and the fuel filter with no luck. I tested for spark after that and it seemed to have no spark but I killed by battery before being able to do any further testing. I have read alot on this problem and most seem to point to ignition module. Would the ignition module be the most likely or should I be looking towards other spark related parts like coil or distributor? BTW it turns over fine just doesn't do anything

 

So we are on the same page, when we ty to start the engine it should crank over and then fire up or start.
If it cranks over , but doesn't start that is one thing. If it doesn't crank over it cannot start.
If the battery and connections are good and clean, it should crank over.
Now it requires fuel ,spark and air to fire up and run.
When you first turn the key on you should hear the fuel pump in the tank run for approx 2 seconds before even turning the key to the start position. Are you hearing the pump run?
After the 2 seconds the ign system needs to get an RPM signal from the pick up in the dist in order to keep the fuel pump relay energized and the fuel pump running.
Do you know if that is happening?
Also there should always be power available to one of the coil primary wires anytime the key is on. When the signal is sent from the dist to the module it send a ground signal to the other coil primary terminal and that signal when dropped fires the coil.
The thing we need to do now is determine which is missing fuel or spark. The best way to check fuel is with a pressure gauge that can be loaned out from many auto supply stores . No pressure , no start. Also need to have good spark coming out of the coil hi tension lead to the dist, no spark , no start. You probably already know all this , but a review never hurts. From the info presented above , which do we have and which don't we have ? Then we go from there. What do you think? Don't forget no fuel could be caused by an electrical problem too.