Missing 302c

Hi, my name is James and this is my first post. I live in Australia and own a 1979 Ford Fairmont with a 302c and have been reading this forum for around 2 years. This car has been sitting without being started since January this year. I recently tried to start it and it ran for about 15 seconds. It started straight up with fresh fuel, and I managed to get it to around 1500 rpm, but it was running really rough, on less than 7 cylinders by the sound and vibration. It then slowly started losing rpm until it stopped. I tried starting again and it would run up to around 500 rpm, and then just die. The carb was hissing and fuel vapour was spitting out while it was running as well. The engine is stock standard with a Carter Thermoquad carburettor (Aussie clevelands came with these from 1976 onward). It also has the factory electronic distributor, but I have no idea what type it is. I don't believe it's a fuel problem because the carb is full, plus the exhaust smelled like fuel as well. My only other theories are valves sticking, or an elecrtrical problem. How would I go about checking the spark without shocking myself? Is there a way of checking if the valves are sticking without taking the rocker covers off? I do know this engine has had a valve sticking problem for the past 10+ years on one cylinder when it is very cold, but this would go away after about 1 minute of warm up. What are some other possible reasons for this occurance? The vehicle has been in storage in a shed in dry conditions since last timer it was driven in January.