its a board fault.. could be the transistor , could be the predriver, could be the 7408 gate .. somethings broken.

Check the switch, make sure it shows in switch test.

+1 I assume you've checked and the coil will not fire in coil test. You know what works: wiring from driving transistor to coil must be o.k. because you can fire coil by grounding transistor. You've said you have checked the transistor so (providing you've tested properly) rule out the driver transistor. You've also ruled out the switch. Best course of action is to investigate upstream signals with either a logic probe or scope. I'd recommend starting at the output of the 7408 gate to divide and conquer. If you have a pulse out of the gate, your problem is between the gate output and driver (most likely culprit would be the predriver) if no pulse it's probably the gate, or examine even further upstream to the PIA.