New Project '65 Cuda - Gonna need lots of advise

So I pulled the plugs, they didn't look terrible. I put in new plugs, put a little marvel mystery in each cylinder. Changed the oil and filter. Put in a new battery. I sprayed some starter fluid in the carb and if fired up pretty quickly. Died even quicker. Just as soon as it burned the starting fluid. Before replacing the tank, I was gonna try pulling the fuel line ahead of the pump and drop a line into a gas can and into the pump. Will this work?? Will it pump gas from the can into the carb? Just like to hear it run for a bit. I was going to pull the tank and see if it could be cleaned out but maybe just getting a new one is a better plan. I hope that's the problem. Sludgy, bad fuel. It blew a lot of smoke (white) out the tail pipe.

Thanks