First time start - no go

no - it could be at exhaust stroke instead of intake. The piston comes up twice during a cycle. As stated above you need to verify valve positions.
read this Distributor drive gear position at TDC
post 11 may be helpful - it could simply be that your distributor is 180 degrees off - not the cap or the wires, just the distributor ----- and it does sound like you may have a "wiring" issue.

If it's on exhaust stroke the compression gauge won't read any pressure