To keep things short and simple, here's what I CAN tell you:
- I drove the car on Tuesday (1/25) and it showed zero symptoms of any issues. Fired up fine, drove fine, everything was perfectly fine.
- I park it in the garage, go to start it this morning, and no start.
- The fuel pump primed, the car started for half a second, then died. I tried starting the car again and it didn't crank 100% all the way but it tried to over and over.
- I've had an overheating issue for the past several months and the last time I burped the system, there were a constant stream of tiny bubbles coming up through the radiator cap which kind of makes me believe the headgasket is on it's way out (or already shot).

I'm about to go through it right now but any input other than the usual spark, fuel, etc. would be nice to come back to if anyone has an idea.

edit - nevermind, it doesn't actually crank all the way.

edit edit - pulled the plugs and fuel pump fuse, cranked it a couple of times, and nothing came out. phew. gotta check for spark but it's definitely getting fuel since all of the injectors were soaked with fuel. tried starting the car after replacing the plugs/wires and it did the same thing. the car started for half a second then died right away then goes back to almost cranking over and over.

 

Add car information to your post.

Are you saying that the starter cranks the engine slowly?

Definitely check for spark.

 

Apply throttle while cranking. 20%, 50%, 100% it might start that way.

 

You keep driving it with an overheating issue and what do you think might happen?
Fix your most likey head gasket breach by replacing head gasket. Is it losing coolant in the radiator and gaining coolant in the reservoir?

 

Compression test, and check the color of your spark. I'm leaning towards destroyed HG though.

 

bubbles in the radiator are pretty much a dead give away of some sort of head gasket breach. Had a same issue in my civic, head gasket was leaking to the point were my car would misfire and sometimes not start at all.

I cant remember the engine but I know it came in the dx 95 civics (what I had). They loved burning up HG's. I think it might have been the d15b7's

 

Either the B7 or the B8, yes. They only "love burning up HG's" if you don't replace them properly, though - there's a reason there's a TSB about it.

 

Depends on the size and consistency of the bubbles. When bleeding the coolant system of air with a properly functioning head gasket tiny, rapid rising bubbles are always present when the engine is revved but, barely noticeable at idle. I may be incorrect but, I believe these tiny bubbles are always present even after a properly bled coolant system.

Head gasket breached bubbles are medium to large sized and rise at a slower rate (compared to the tiny bubbles mentioned above) and are present at idle and increase when engine is revved.