Will not start

If door is open , interior lights may be on and killing the battery. The door switch may be bad and that may be why the door wont close.

If under your own power source, vehicle is not starting...
then you connect an alternate power source, and it starts (as you said - right up) then your power source is bad!
Power Source = Battery

the order is ( no M/T tranny and push starting,,,, its an A/T right?)
1: cranking, it must crank or it can never start.
2; start, does it start.
3: power, if it can start , the engine is dead, there is no power.
my guess is its #2.

so here goes. with scotty, posted 100 times now..
"cranks but wont start he says"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=064Ilsz8Fzg&NR=1&feature=fvwp

1978 ,you have no power to the coil with ignition switch on ,if you have power then check it with the ignition switch in start position as sometimes the switch packs up and no power to the coil in start position

Do warning lights and gauges come on, when key is turned to on?
If yes, check for power on the small wire at starter solenoid mounted on the starter with the key held in start. If power at the solenoid, take starter off and test for a bad starter or solenoid. If no power at solenoid when key held over to crank, work back to the switch in the start circuit-starter relay, clutch or neutral safety switch,-power from the start wire out of switch is not getting to the starter solenoid.
If no warning lights or gauges work with key in on position, power is either not getting to switch (bad maxi-fuse or fuse link, or bad battery connections-clean and tighten, recheck)-or the switch itself is not sending power out. Check if battery is charged up. Check all connections and grounds for loose, poor connections.
The start circuit starts at the battery, then to ignition switch, then out of ignition switch on the start wire to the clutch switch (or neutral/park on automatics), and on , ending at the starter solenoid on the starter. Somewhere in your starting circuit, power is lost. Start at the battery-check charge, check connections, check ignition switch.

With key on, do the warning lights and gauges come on? If yes, next is to check the start wire from ignition switch to the starter solenoid. The only time this wire has power is when the key is held in start. One could pull off the small wire at the starter solenoid on the starter, and check if it has power with the key held in start. If it does have power, may be a problem with the starter solenoid. But if no power on that wire, you will have to trace the wire from switch to starter. Not a direct path to the starter though. There is a park/neutral safety switch that the wire has to pass power through, so in park or neutral you would have power in and power out of the switch. If you have a manual transmission, substitute a clutch safety switch (or clutch inter-lock switch) for the park/neutral switch. If you have this, easy to check for power in/power out of the switch, with clutch pedal depressed and key held in start.
There is also likely a starter relay in the circuit. If you can find it and if you have a test light or voltmeter, you can do some checking here to see if your start wire still has power. Pull the relay out, key off. See if any terminals the relay plugs into has power. May or may not, depending on how the wiring is set up for the relay. But now if you hold key in start and check all the terminals, there should be at least one (maybe two) terminals that have power, where they didn't have before. That tells you the power is still getting out to this point.
If you have a theft deterrent system, and it is activated, at this relay is where it may come into play-not letting power pass through to the starter solenoid on the starter.
Sorry I do not have a wiring diagram so could give you more specifics. Hope you kind of get the picture, though. Large maxifuses pass power to the ignition switch. The switch sends the power out as demanded. The start wire out of the switch going through the start circuit to the starter solenoid only has power when the key is held in start.

Does the engine turn over when you try to start it? Or is it just dead silent? Your engine requires a lot of power to start, where the lights on your dash/etc require very little power. It's not uncommon for the battery to be able to power everything in the car but not have enough power to start the engine. Check the voltage at the battery when you're trying to start it. it should be around 12 volts. Try a jump start if you don't have a voltmeter. If it starts when hooked up to another cars battery then your battery is the problem.

find the starter their should be fat and skinny wire fat fire supposed to have power all times skinny wire should have power when someone turns the key to start position if no power at skinny wire when key turned possible electrical problem, start switch, relay, natural safety switch etc. if their is power and no start bad starter

Make sure the connections to the battery are clean,and the battery post,no grey,or black residue ,this acts as an insulator.Check the ground connection,to the engine.

You need the check for power at the solenoid wire (small wire) on the starter while turning the key to start. If there is power during start you have a bad starter. If there is no power at start, try staring it with the shifter in neutral. If there is power then, your neutral safety switch is either bad or needs adjustment.
I'm assuming all your battery connections are tight.