my 95 n reg volkswagen golf wont start, any ideas? please help!!?

Hi - my car drove without fault previous night, the next morning it would not start! had been very low on fuel and assuming it had run dry topped it up - no difference!
The battery is now fully charged, there is fuel in it, oil is full, water is full, starter motor is turning fine, the ditributor is clean and the rotor arm spins no problem.
Given how low the fuel was i was guessing i have a blocked line or filter but after removing the airbox to get to the carb and pouring in a capfull of fuel it will still not fire up.
All the sparkplugs have been removed and cleaned of any deposits, which by a haynes manual were normal - no oil etc.

what should i try next?

can i try n spark the plugs while out of the car ?
if they are sparking what would the next step be?
if they dont what would the next step be?
and finally, is it safe to assume that because i have tried fuelling directly in to the carb that it is not a fuel issue??

ok thanks for reading this, any help would be greatly appricated
thanks
nigel