Are all three coils giving you the yellow spark?

PS - Wouldn't hurt to check all the battery connections.

battery connections have been checked and cleaned. I still plan to ECM swap later, but family events have come up this evening, so no more troubleshooting for me. :(
We managed to make a deal for my brothers spare car to drive, so the pressure is somewhat off for now, as of a few hours ago. Howverm a 1989 Grand AM doesnt compare to the Bonneville, so I know we will tire of this soon LOL.

How about getting the alternator checked out at a local Pep Boys? Swap the battery out with the other car as well. Yellow spark may be either weak wiring or weak sources. Could also be draining the battery from cranking so much.

Battery is only 4 months old, and mrscrzydmnd kept the charger on it all day friday, thinking that would help. Cranking is still very fast and solid. Looks like I may have a little time tonite when work settles to work on it again. Going to see what a good spark looks like on my LE first, then on from there. More to come, I'm sure

Ted, the bottom 2 coils are giving a much stronger spark, the middle 2 are a little weaker, the top 2 are just barely there. Going to swap coil packs again here in a minute and see if the same result for the other (presumed bad with goo dripping) one.

It sounds more like the ICM than the coil pack. The ECM does not control the spark for starting, it'* all done in the ICM. You could try changing the connection from the ICM to a different coil connection on the bottom and see if the weak or strong spark follows the change, but the plugs would need to be disabled or the ignition timing will be seriously compromised. The voltage output from the ICM is boosted above the standard 12 volts to produce the approx. 40,000 the coil is capable of. If the feed from the ICM is weak, the coil cannot multiply a low voltage to produce the nice blue/white 1/2" spark you want.

I suspect an ICM problem also. Try cleaning the connector tightening the socket prongs or swapping the entire ECU and ICM with a known good one.

Fixed, and the problem was the crank sensor again! Finally jacked the car up, crawled underneath, and saw bits of plastic in the air gap area where the interrupter rings pass thru the sensor, HUH? I used a feeler gauge to set that thing the first time. (must be my new bifocals messing my vision up!@##I(**&)

With my brothers help, we pulled the balancer, closely examined the new sensor, it had been rubbed raw in the middle. We put the old sensor back on, bolted it up loosley and it started right up. However it refused to run reliably or start easily sometimes.

We had nothing to lose by putting the new sensor back on, so we did, and I CAREFULLY gapped the new (albeit a little scarred) sensor to .30. Tighted up, checked again, he rotated the balancer about 2 revolutions to make SURE there was no rubbing, and it started right up. With the old green goo dripping coil pack to boot!

anyways, its running smooth again, drives fine, got about an hours worth of running out of it. Mrscrzydmnd will be the test driver tomorrow. Type2 upgrade still on the drawing board when payday $$$ comes.

Thanks for EVERYONES help!

Glad to hear it'* running okay.
I just popped in to voice my distress at your description of the green goo dripping coil pack. That sounds like a good thing to replace, working or not. I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to drip green goo.

Yeah its on the short list of things to replace. I would love to share a pic, I dont own a digital camera (yeah I know lol) I will try to get pics and post em when I can beg or borrow a camera from someone.