I recently picked up a 2001 Ford E250 w/the 5.4 motor.Don't have much in it but it involved a little work.It is now back together with a fresh battery and enough fresh gas but I did not have any pressure at the fuel rail.Have dropped the tank and cleaned the pump and changed the strainer and filter but still not starting.If I spray a little starter fluid in the intake it tries to fire.This tells me it has to be fuel related.I can borrow a pressure test kit and I know what it should be but,before I go any farther is there any other component that might be questionable?

Have you checked for fuel shut off switch? Check owners Manuel to see where it might be, might be behind the passenger side kick panel or under the hood. Can you here the fuel pump come on when you first turn the key?

Make sure there's more than a token amount of gas in the gas tank. Turn the ignition switch to ON, until you can you hear the fuel pump stop; then, turn the ignition switch to OFF. Repeat this process several more times. This will ensure the fuel rail is fully pressurized. On the last attempt, turn the ignition swich to START. It should fire right up.

If the problem persists, reset the Inertia Switch, check the fuel pump fuse in the under hood fuse/relay box, and remove and clean the contacts to the fuel pump relay in the under hood fuse/relay box. Personally, I would test all under dash and under hood fuses with a test light or multimeter and check for codes. My experience with the 5.4L engine is that people leave the Iridium spark plugs in way too long. Consider changing the plugs, if they have more than 100,000 miles on them.