so, my starter gear cracked off in the case a while back... been push starting it ever since. I decided to give the bike a make over and turn it into a bobber... its sat unstarted for over a year during the build process. I got everything plugged back in, fully charged battery and my biggest worry came true.... it wont start.  Has fresh gas in the tank. I was worried that sitting so long it would be a real pain in the butt to start.... and it has been.  Should i mess with cleaning the carb first? Cleaning spark plug? Shoot some starting fluid in the carb and give her a push?  Anyone else have this happen?

If you left fuel in the tank and carb.....most likely the carb will need to be cleaned.  The pilot jet has a very small hole that can clog easily....and the starter circuit (choke) gets the fuel from that jet.

The float could also be stuck.......and possibly the petcock.  Did you turn the petcock to prime? Does your float bowl have a drain screw where you can check to see if you are getting any fuel into the float bowl?