Thanks for your replies.
I will try the clean diesel fuel trick and see if that works. My dad mentioned the diesel could go bad after sitting for a while but I never really thought twice about it.
The merc nozzles and injectors are new from 'prothe' (dieselvw.com). I went this route because I dissasembled the current injectors and they were a bit rusty on the inside. I guess there is always a possibility that they could be to blame since I haven't pop tested them or check their spray pattern. But I'm hoping prothe's injectors are good out of the box.
Also, maybe the mechanic did play with the IP. Maybe the idle screw / fuel screws are way out of whack or something.
Once I check the compression and reseal this pump, I'm fairly certain that I can narrow down the problem and get this dang this running!
IT IS ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just got it running. I rebuilt the IP for the second time because the pulley was seized the first time because I rebuilt it wrong. I individually wired my glowplugs to a ford starter relay and push button. I put everything together, timed it, primed the pump, and spent about 3 minutes cycling the glowplugs with my switch and cranking the heck out of the starter. Poof Poof Poof, BAM! IT RUNS. IM SO EXCITED, my months of rebuilding finally paid off. Thanks for everybody's help.
Congrats! Welcome to the never-ending journey that is diesel VWs!