Almost all M/T vehicles have a clutch-neutral safety switch, so you must have the clutch to the floor to start...similar to ta Park-Neutral safety switch in an automatic, that will only let you start in Park or Neutral... Also, in referecne to madvinegar's comment about "priming the oil pump", I would look into that... Most vehicles have an electric FUEL pump that is primed when you first turn the key (you can hear it usually)...but most vehicles are still using mechanical oil pumps, which wouldn't prime until you actually turned the engine over... Not **** talking, just wondering if Madvinegar might know something we dont...