A good starting point on the Savage is trying to run it with the fuel valve in the prime position (lever back) rather than regular or reserve. This will overcome a vaccum leak in the actuating hose, kimked hose or a collasped interior of the hose. These have been documented problems historically as has the fuel valve diaphram and tank cap vent plugging.   If you have decent spark at the plug, odds are extremely low the timing is off. It is fixed by the flywheel key and there has been no documented failures in this area. A sooted up plug insulator will prevent spark from jumping the gap under compression but still check good at the connector/cap. A new plug and fixing the problem is the best bet here. If for some reason the exhaust valves are hanging open then compression would be low and it might not run or run very poorly if you got it started.  max

The things to remember with any engine problem is that the engine needs 3 things for operation.

Air: proper intake air to be compressed.  No leaks as in intake manifold or carb.  No leaks in compression such as bad rings or valves.  No moisture as in an airbox full of water (need to periodically drain the air box).  Once you  determined that airflow is good...move on.

Fuel: air/fuel at a ratio of around 15 to 1.  Normally if you run out of gas the bike will sputter, buck and die quicky.  It will also restart as soon as you restore the fuel either with the Reserve position or fresh gas.  If there is a carb problem the engine will run poorly, but normally run anyway.  Not just slowly loose power.  Now that the carb is rebuilt, it should have started anyway.  Try a "sniff check" at the tail pipe while cranking it.  If it is getting fuel but not starting, you'll smell gas.  If this is good...move on.

Ignition: This is the tricky one.  It is hard to tell a weak spark from a good spark.  You can see a spark but that may not be good enough for ignition.  As Max said, for the timing to be out would be unusual.  The CDI pickup and the rotor are fixed positions.  They won't change easily, and I haven't heard of anyone having this happen.  However, I think that the problem lies with the ignition and the electrical system.

You said that valve clearance is okay.  That means that you've watched the valves operate while manually turning the engine over.  Right?  That means that you have also gone by the book on positioning the crank at TDC with the bolt on the left side of the crankshaft.  Right?  There is a painted line on that bolt and it should be at the 3:00 position on the compression stroke when adjusting the valves.  That is what you have done, right?  If that is correct, then the valves and cam chain have not jumped timing.  If the chain jumped, the position would be higher up like 1:00, I do believe.  Just to check...turn the crank to the 3:00 position with the bolt.  Both the intake and exhaust valves should be completely closed....if this is right, move on.

You didn't mention any oil smoke when the engine died.  Was there any?  Burned valves or rings will produce gray smoke, and this is usually a condition that you'll see well in advance of the engine failing to run.  No smoke?  Without a gage you can get a reasonable feel for the compression by installing the plug and turning the engine with a socket and breaker bar on that crankshaft bolt again.  Turn the left side rotor bolt counter clockwise (always).  It should get hard to turn towards TDC and then spring forward after TDC.  How did it feel?  If it wasn't smoking and there is some compression...move on.

Where are we?  Back to ignition/ electrical system problem.  This is where I think the problem lies.  If your charging system has a problem and the ignition totally draws on the battery, then the bike will slowly loose power and die.  It is time to make sure that you have a good battery.  A full charge and it might also be good to have it load checked for current too.  You can be fooled by a battery that has an internal problem.  Sometimes it can read 12 volts even when bad.  Then start checking the fuses under the right side of the seat.  Check all the cables for wear or shorting.  Follow them all the way to the alternator cover if necessary (take off the front pulley cover).  You may even have to remove the alternator cover so be prepared to get a new gasket.  Check the ignition unit under the left side cover.  Check all connectors.  Check the starter relay under the seat.  Maybe even remove the tank and check the harnesses under there too.  Check the ignition coil while there too.  And oh yeah, check that silly little kill switch to make sure it isn't shorted to ground.

Somewhere in all this the bike should start again.  Going by what "you said that he said" happened, this is the best that I can come up with.  Good luck.

We'll try the sniff check tonight...the nature and quality of the carb 'rebuild' are an unknown and no mixture may still be a factor.  As much as we cranked it I don't recal the smell of gas...and in retrospect probably should have.

Valves operate but haven't used the paint marks yet...thanks for the info here.   Will use those tonight.

The bike died going down the highway.  The owner noticed he was twisting the throttle more and more to stay at the same speed and with no more throttle remaining, started slowing down.  As near as I can get him to describe, this took 10 seconds before he pulled in the clutch and coasted off an exit with a silent engine.  He's run out of gas before and said this was different.

Will check compression tonight as well.  There is some but we we able to get the motor cycling through in 1rst gear with just him sitting (not bouncing) on the seat (he's ~160lbs) and me pushing...I was expecting a harder time.

Thanks for the help so far and I'll post more as I find it.

Try pulling the plug, dribbling a few drops of gas in the hole, putting the plug back in and seeing if it starts for a second. If it does then you problem is the in carb or pet-coc-k. Sounds almost like a plugged up fuel filter or fuel starvation. Pull the float bowl and check for water or dirt in it. Good luck

maybe it's the petc o c k. it has rubber parts inside that do decay.
and you say prime works fine. is the vacuum hose attached properly to the petc o c k?

Apologies for not updating.

We didn't get to do the sniff test so I still suspect the operation of the carb...though there was, and still is, plenty of flow to, and into the float bowl.

Getting it running again is as much of a concern as what caused it to quit and the possible damage that situation caused.

The header is much bluer than I've seen in other's photos of their bike.  The muffler is also blue just aft and under the heat sield by the right peg and there is some blueing towards the outlet of the muffler as well.  This may be normal as he rides this to work each day, about 30 miles each way.

But of more concern is the lack of compression.  In reading other's accounts (on this forum) of bump starting, the needed bounce of butt weight to add traction to the rear wheel, our situation is different and much easier.

As we are at an apartment complex our ability to do any involved troubleshooting is limited and done at the risk of the property management's discovery.  Saturday the bike was taken back to the point of purchase for their assesment and (hopefully) warranty service.  It may be a couple of days before they get to it and make their diagnosis.

Many thanks for all of the replies and suggestions.  I'll post as soon as we hear of something!