[MR2] Ongoing problem, will not start, mk2T, 3rd gen

[Chris]

Ok, so I finally had a chance to dive into the problem. The car started one day, then died completely. After that, it was sluggish to turn over, sounded kinda different and would not fire to save my life.  I replaced: igniter, coil, coil wire, dizzy cap, rotor, plugs and plug wires to no avail.  I saw a video on youtube that had my exact engine sounds, complete with a tapping noise while cranking on a car with a timing issue. The list also helpfully pointed me to a potentially skipped timing belt.  Well, I took the time today to remove te valve cover and the camshafts were luckily very close to the notch marks, both looked to be in the same orientation (about 1/2 past the notch).  Well, I jacked the car and put a 19mm socket on the crank bolt, put on a long half inch ratchet and turned clockwise...for a total of about 5 degrees of motion before everything just stopped...completely.  I cannot, for the life of me, turn it any farther.  Oh, and I have removed the spark plugs with the cam cover. 

Does anyone know what would cause that? the car was running fine the day before it started and died.

help, please
Chris
91T