i'll just put the conclusion first for those who don't want to read
about a bunch of fixes that didn't fix anything.

for the sake of completing my tale, i just checked all the other
injectors.  resistance across each injector is fine (2.6 - 2.8 ohms).
i have continuity from main relay 87 to each injector (on both
terminals?).  continuity from motronic 14 to injector group 1 is fine
(on both terminals?).  continuity from motronic 15 to injector group 2
is fine (on both terminals?).  for that matter, motronic 14 and 15
have continuity to both terminals on every injector, whether the
injector is part of that pin's group or not.  they also have
continuity to main relay 87 and the chassis.  they even have
continuity to each other.  that's just wrong, isn't it?  i've said the
problem is definitely so-and-so enough times in the last month that i
should know better by now, but the harness is definitely screwed up
somewhere, right?

and now, the long version:

while driving to petco one evening, the car died w/ no warning,
whatsoever.  it had been running perfectly for over a month, no loss
of power, nothing to indicate something was clogged / dirty /
whathaveyou.  the engine will turn over all day long (or until the
battery runs down), but will not ignite.  here's what i've done...

the original ignition coil tested outside of specs (according to
haynes - bentley supports this) and as it was too small for the frame,
i suspect it wasn't even the right part (thanks previous owner, who
also installs fuel filters backwards).  i ordered a new one, plopped
it down in there, and nothing ($60 - flush).  at this point, i found
that (w/ the ignition on) between coil 15 and chassis, i have +12V,
but between coil 15 and coil 1, i'm only getting +1.2mV.  coil 1 has
continuity through to motronic 1, so at least the wire's not broken.
i don't know what this means.

moving on, next stop, distributor cap and rotor.  my original rotor
was melted, and the original cap had enough carbon goo built up inside
that it wouldn't hurt to replace both.  as before, this fixed nothing
($85 - flush).

at this point, i figured the DME (027) was bad (mainly because of the
voltage to coil issue, but there was a previous episode w/ an ebay DME
upgrade - replacing it w/ the original chip fixed that), found one on
ebay, and ordered it.  while i waited for it to arrive, i also ordered
the bentley book.  book arrived, i ran through all the DME checks, and
except for the fuel injectors (i was more concerned w/ the electricity
arcing around my delicate fingerbones), air flow sensor, and oxygen
sensors (it started raining), everything passed.

a few days later, the new DME arrived.  i plugged it in, turned the
key, and same old crap ($50 - flush).  later that evening, i figured i
should redo the motronic checks, including the ones i skipped, and i
even found a way to check the fuel injectors that didn't involve
burning off my fingers.  the fuel injectors are NOT firing.
everything else passed, so now i'm on to the main relay.

i couldn't find the exact bosch part locally, so i picked up a generic
5-prong relay (same diagram, same voltage, same amperage).  i took it
home, stuck it in there, and (wait for it...) nothing!  thank god it
was only 4 bucks (flush).  voltage to the relay panel is fine.  i
replaced the original part, disconnected the lead to one of the
injectors, and w/ the ignition on, i'm getting +12V on both terminals
(i don't know if this is right or not - one leads to main relay 87,
the other leads to motronic 14 or 15).

so now what?  this is just the latest episode.  all told, i've
probably spent about four times what this car is worth (fair
condition) on acquisition and fixing it up (about half mechanical /
electrical, half aesthetic).  according to random posts spotted on the
interweb, a new wiring harness will cost $300 or $500, plus three
hours of labor (i'm not doing that myself).  should i continue
delaying the inevitable or just go buy a kia (up to $4000 minimum
trade-in, plus $1000 to $2500 cash back on the models i like)?  i
prefer not having a car payment, but this has been going on for over 4
weeks now, and the owner of my borrowmobile (a '97 lumina - bleh) is
starting to get antsy.

thank you very much for your time and assistance.