you guys were spot on, it was the battery. i tried jumping the car and it fired up. but thought the battery was okay since the voltage read 14v with ignition on, 12.5v off. but i took it to autozone and their tester confirmed it was a bad battery. i guess there's more to the testing than the voltage reading? but anyways, got it replaced, and the z fires right up! thanks again to all of you guys, very much appreciated.