Hi, was hoping you could help or point me in the right direction. I
have a coleman powermate 6250w generator that has been sitting in a
box for about 4 years, no gas or old was ever put in. Today, we go
to fire it up, fill it with oil and fuel, bit it will not start. The
plug is new and when holding near the block, we can see spark plus it
has plenty of compression. It sounds like it wants to catch, but it
won't. Fuel valve is on and I can smell gas like it is getting
flooded. Any suggestions or anything we might have missed? Thanks!

That's far from a "new" generator. It's only "unused". The fuel lines,
carb, bowl, jets etc. have probably all become full of varnish from the
time in storage. You'll have to have it cleaned out and checked.

Tossing gas in the spark plug is stupid advice as it can easily keep the
thing from ever starting period, til the gas evaporates and in some
cases can cause damage to the engine. If you wan to do something like
that, get a can of starting fluid to squirt into the carb. But, that
will cause the engine to almost start and you'll pull the dirt/grime
formed in the old fuel harder into the needles etc. and it still won't
start. Lost cause til you get it serviced.