I bought it 2 weeks ago in atlantic beach fla...car has 148,668 miles. I live 2 hours from where I bought it and it drove home great. After a couple days, it started sputtering when accelerating...it did it one day so bad that it died and wouldnt start... I took it to a garage, they said the crank sensor went bad....replaced that along w/the spark plugs (I'm a college kid and having to go 4 days w/o my vehicle is hard) anyway, they charged me $175 for everything, it ran great home... (i live about a mile away from the garage) no noises, ran like new. Mind you my fuel light is on, but its not on e yet. I moved it from one side of my house today to the other to wash it...as i went to put it back in it's spot, i cranked it, put it reverse and the damn thing shut off. I had a gas can so i put what gas was there in it. Tried it, it turns over and tries to crank but as soon as it does it shuts off. There is a strong, strong smell of gas and it feels like it's flooded. I know nothing about cars except what my dad taught me as a kid (how to change oil) I'm only working with a limited budget. I called my mechanic and he is gonna come get...I just wanna figure out WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG. I need it fixed, having no other way to go. Any ideas?
oh - it's the 2.3 auto, if that helps any.

 

Never a good idea to drive below 1/4 tank as it puts extra strain on the fuel pump and shortens it's life.
The gas actually helps cool the fuel pump in the gas tank.
Put more gas in it, Before trying to start it, leave key to the on position for 5 seconds to let fuel pressure build up before cranking it to start and press on gas pedal til it starts, letting it off so it doesn't over rev.

 

Thanks for the advice, i will give that a try.