I dont want to piss on your wheaties here, but if you have been cranking on a motor long enough to wear down the battery, you may have wiped out the cam and lifters. All it takes is 3 or 4 revolutions of a motor to WIPE off the assembly lube and from there, the cam lobes are running metal to metal.
To test for spark, you can pull the distributor out of the motor and pull a plug wire off a plug. Stick a spare plug in the loose wire and turn the ignition switch ON. Now spin the distributor shaft. If you see the plug arc, then you need to determine where TDC is and then stab the distributor. If you want a diagram, look at Hughes Engines website in the camshaft section.
I hope for your sake that the cam is okay. Priming the system wont help either, since the cam and lifters are SPLASH lubricated by oil slung from the crankshaft. Keep us in the loop.