Scratch that with the furnace. it doesnt pass the can-i-get-it-to-work-again test. ergo, vis-a-vis, its still broke.

heres some observations on a broke furnace slash ac machine:
the ac still works, (now all I need to do is stick some sort of inverter on the output and we'll be fine, right?)
its apparently getting gas (see earlier post)
when I turn the heat on and kick it up to 90, a little wheel (3.5 inches in diameter) mounted on a transformer starts to turn. if that goes well, something turns orange, and the gas ignites.

and the last and most important observation so far:
the little wheel usually stops turning before the gas ignites