M Danger

Woo hoo, after not getting it to run for so long i used some starter fluid and vrooom! oh yeah and after pouring in a gallon of gas, although it was only 87octane. but it woudl back fire and hesitate around 3200-3600 rpm and it wouldnt go any higher and almost die. i thought maybe it the distributor was off, turning it clockwise seemed to let it rev alittle higher but the idle was a bit lower and sometimes it would drop low enough where it dies.
Then the low fuel light came on, and the engine was dying unless i held the gas a little, and then it seemed to back fire almost at idle and quit.
if the fuel system were totaly empty and dry, and i only put one gallon in, would that cause it to back fire?
Thanks
Mike