One of these just came up on Ebay:

eBay Motors: Pontiac FIERO sunroof latch assembly (item 200273853304 end time  Nov-16-08 18:42:06 PST)

Just in case, you should check the Fuel Pump fuse underneath the driver's side dash. If you're lucky its just blown.

When you first turn the key to "Run" , before actually cranking over the engine you should hear a click in the engine bay, followed by the hum of the fuel pump running for about 2 seconds. The hum should be fairly audible, if you don't hear anything than the pump probably isn't running.

The fronts should pop right off like the rears, have you tried the passenger side front?

Could be some significant build up on the studs holding it in place.

Very nice build you have going 

Howdy Whodeanie, welcome to the forum 

Glad it worked out 

I made that guide after dropping the tank on my car three consecutive times 

Sounds like your tank may have been rusty, or you had some bad fuel in there to make the fuel filter red. May just need to run a full tank of fresh fuel through it, and perhaps some injector cleaner.

When I first got my car, it developed a bad stumble from dirty fuel.

Do you have a fuel pressure tester? Possible you have a failing fuel pump or pressure regulator.

lol, I get that Face on mine all the time, minus the teeth 

Congrats on the working heat, my heat is pretty crappy 

You mention doing the distributor, did you replace the Pick-Up coil and Ignition module inside?

Is there  a decent flow of exhaust out the tail pipes? Its not too uncommon for the catalytic converter to become plugged up and choke the engine.

The pump wasn't meant to be run dry, though I don't think it should have squealed.  It probably depends on the quality of the unit though. Fuel pumps can quickly fail if run dry, a dead fuel pump is a not uncommon result of running out of gas for example.

Thanks for taking the time to post here, you're doing a great job on the build and making everything line up. Looking forward to seeing more of it 

Sounds like you have a fuel system issue, possibly a starter as well.

The fuel pump won't kick on every single time you turn the key to Run, if you turn the key to run several times in a short period of time, the pump will only kick on the first time.

However, the pump should Always kick on that first time you turn the key. When you turn the key to Run, do you hear a Click in the engine bay?

I'm fairly certain all the 2.8's used in Fieros were technically HOs, though honestly I'm not certain of the actual difference between the HO and regular engine.