what you are describing now strongly indicates carb problems, specifically trash or water or settings not allowing fuel to cylinder.

But - After you have overhauled carb - if engine will still not fire using a blast of carb cleaner into carb throat and you are getting good spark as described, you may have a sheared flywheel key - messing up ignition timing.
Then perhaps time to check that key.

Post back.

Overhauled carb. No go. Undertook taking engine apart looking for flywheel key and could not find. After removing flywheel all I saw was wire around top. No breaks in wire and loked good but could not locate flywheel key. Cleaned everything, put back together with no extra parts :) and turned key, just cranked and cranked with no effort to kick over. Time for the shop?

when you removed the flywheel, that's when you should have seen a key - either on the crankshaft slot or in the flywheel mounting hole slot.
Also, both those surfaces must be CLEAN before remounting with key properly engaged and then the retaining nut torqued to a specific value (don't know since you have not provided make/model/type engine info...)

before taking apart flywheel but after recleaning carb, did you try to start using a blast of carb cleaner into throat ?

OH BOY!
There should have been a small key in either the groove (key way) on the crankshaft, or in the groove on the flywheel.
The key may have fallen off and gotten lost (if it was stuck in the flywheel) when you lifted the flywheel and set it aside.
Go back and search the area well, might want to drag a magnet around as well.
If there WAS a sheared key, and you don't know what the key looks like, it may have been right in front of you with one half in the crankshaft and the other half in the flywheel.
You need to inspect the inside of the flywheel really good as the key or the remains of the key might be stuck to one of the flywheel magnets (this would have happened after you lifted the flywheel and set it aside).
If a key is sheared or absent altogether.......there will still be a spark produced by the magneto, but the spark will occur at the wrong time..............and the engine will not run.
If you find that the key has sheared (or maybe wasn't there) buy only the genuine Briggs key.....no hardware store key stock.
To installed the key you set the flywheel onto the crankshaft with the key ways in each part aligned.
Then you gently slip the key into the aligned key ways, tapping lightly if needed.
Then you install the flywheel retention nut and you must absolutely torque it to 100 ft lb.
Make sure there is no oil, grease or dirt on the crankshaft taper or the flywheel taper.
Surfaces must be "bone dry".

Thank you for the response. Thought the key would look like something else. It is there and in one piece. When I put the flywheel back on, I tapped it back in place and tightened as specified. Darn, was hoping I missed something.

Exactly which Briggs engine is this?
Get the Model number AND the Type number from the engine.
Both should be together in the same location and identified as such (decal or metal tag, might even be stamped into the sheet metal).

Model # 28(orB)V707
Type: 1174-E1
Code 9709172E

Went back to the carb again to clean thoroughly and make sure valve stem was free. Fuel in bowel, drained tank and bowl, new fuel, still won't even try to kick over, just cranks.

Looks like you have fire, compression, fuel. That should be all that's needed to run unless it's firing at the wrong time but you should get a back fire or pop. Maybe the plug is fouled. (doubt it)Check for plug fire again. You might want to do a compression check with a guage also. Just because you feel air coming out the hole doesn't necessarily mean you have good compression. Just some thing to double check.