after loosening the tension and then cranking it i retighten the tensio and start the car..now it wont start up..im assuming while cranking it skipped a few tooths..all it does it cranks and wont start up? am i fine as long as it wasnt on and then skip or what? how hard is it to reset timing to get it to start again?

 

if timing is off 1 tooth or so, it will still start.
recheck all your connections, and check to see if you have spark

 

how about off by around 3?..when i cranked it counterclockwise and realize it had slack i went clockwise also..did i do any damage?

 

i assume your talking about the tensioner bolt, if you went one way and it didnt tighten, then you went teh other way, i dont see how this would cause damage.
either way, it should still start, it will run like **** if its off by 3 teeth, but it should at least start.

do you have power going to the distributor?