If you think that was scolding you should have seen the first draft. I was trying to help you get results from the forum.
This one is designed far better than Reddit or Facebook. We try to keep it organized so users can find what they are looking for, not one long stream of consciousness; James Joyce is literature, but you will never figure out what is going on by reading 1 page.
You just start a thread stating the particulars of your situation, after searching to see if it is a overly common problem. Not a question of etiquette but of final results. Many of us just ignore posts that are thrown on the end of a 3 page thread because then we have to read the whole thing to figure out what "the same problem" might mean. If you prefer to be ignored that is a good way to do it.

 

I chimed in and forgot to move your issues to a new thread. Nothing about scolding, just trying to focus on your issues for your HHR. Now, where were we, P0171, you were going to do some tests, put gas in the tank, oh yeah, listen for the fuel pump! Can you hear it priming when you turn the key on?

 

thanks for moving the post Oldblue! I had time to get a new battery but not gas yet - will do that tomorrow. Really hoping it's something stupid like NO GAS.
Meanwhile the vapor canister which was a fairly recent replacement checked out ok, vacuum lines agian seem to be good, and the flex pipe which i am embarrassed to say i didn't know what that part was called as i thought it was just all part of the catalytic converter assembly.

I posted a video here that sounds like the pump is running when i put key to ON. Flex pipe looks crack free. I tried rocking the car to listen for gas sloshing in the tank but the car doesn't rock easily and i can't hear anything. putting the recorder down by the gas tank the pump is clearly heard, but i could never hear it when inside the car - probably because of the stupid actuator in the HVAC system always has to do it's stupid cycle clunk clunk clunk ever since i changed the cabin filter that had probably NEVER been changed before - but that's another story and i just live with it.

 

Good fuel pump is on, now redo the fuel pump test!

 

Why would you replace the canister? Do you think it is part of the purge valve, like in your vid? The names are a bit confusing; "charcoal canister purge valve" could lead you to believe it is the canister.
The charcoal canister rarely malfunctions, unless it gets flooded with gas or water.
How much effort is it to replace the cabin filter? Seems that you defer a lot of maintenance.
The ignored P0420 could have something to do with the P0171. The P0171 inhibits the P0420 test. The P0420 inhibits several others. Both inhibit closed loop, you have been driving without benefit of the computer programming ever since the P0420 set. So, maybe the P0420 or P0171 is intermittent. Won't know until fixed.
2006 models might need the ECM re-calibrated for both. There is a TSB.
The O2 sensors are designed to vent a tiny bit, if they wear physically they could vent too much.

 

i have only had this car for about 2 years and deperately needed a car after having to rent cars for a month. I ended up getting this at a used dealer for 2k. It had 169K when i got it with no history. I was able to determine it was likely a local west coast florida car, but that's it.
Right away i had to install lower control arms to get it aligned, fresh oil change and a deep cleaning as the interior was filthy. So far maintenance and repairs have included regular oil changes, air filter, cabin filter, new tires, lower arms, struts, cooling fan, ac repairs, belt tensioner and belt, spark plugs, ignition coil/boots ECM, vapor canister, interior parts broken by stupid ex GF include visor, 2 inside door handles and turn indicator stalk. Oh and now a new battery. I hardly think i've deterred maintenance and done things as funds allow.
So update:
managed to grab some gas to put in. Also the other day had added some fuel injector cleaner and of course new battery. ODB scanner still shows no codes - guess unless the car actually started, that's not going to change.
here's a quick sound video where the fuel pump still sounds like it runs - more background noise this time, but it does sound different so maybe the gas tank was indeed nearly or completely empty? i dunno. i didn't record a few attempts of starting, and decided to stop as i don't want to burn the starter out either. I am now at a loss of what to do next. I am not able to take it to a mechanic at this time.

 

P0420 for 2 years is deferred maintenance. When there is a P0420 the computer won't go into "closed loop" that means that the engine is running on guesswork not sensor feedback. And other OBD tests don't even run because of it, you don't know what other codes just have not run to fail.
I don't know how the P0171 came to even run and fail except that maybe the P0420 didn't set one time. When the computer is in "open loop" there is no trimming done, so P0171/P0172 are irrelevant.
You have basically been running without the ECM for the last 2 years. I don't know what damage may have been done.

 

trying to think back - when i bought it the dealer had clearly been resetting the codes as i do remember it had not had many starts since last cleared when i was first looking at it. I don't remember which codes came up initially, but it was more than one and not sure if 420 was even one of them. Over time other codes have come and gone.
the scanner /app i ahve is called inCarDoc... looking thru saved screenshots in my phone i see once there was p0455 code only. another time p0430 and p0400... those were early on... never came up again.. later the 0420 returned along with 0300, then only the 0300 a month later. then i'd just be 420.. then 420 and 461 shows up... then later 0300 with a 0420 as pending followed by next day 3 confirmed 0300, 0420, 0461.
then after doing the spark plugs/ignition coil, the car ran even better and got even better mpg and the 0300 code never came back... i should post pics of the old plugs - surprised the car ran so good before with those things. Again, whoever owned it before me likely didn't do crap after the warranty ran out.
It also has the Mode $6 where all systems always say PASSED except exhaust gas sensor bank 2 sensor 1
so because for the most part, the car has always started without a hitch and run great in the last year - especially after the tuneup, i figured based on what i recall reading and the assumption 'it's just the catalytic conv' that other more important things should be fixed first - like i was planning on doing the timing chain next - and getting the AC working again.

 

There is no bank 2. I'm guessing that it is bank !, sensor 2 which is the P0420.
P0461 is the fuel level sensor.
P0300 does not mean much, probably caused by one of the other faults.
P0430 is for a bad bank 2 cat, which does not exist in 4 cylinder engines.
"just the catalytic converter" would be fair to say before 1996 when the cat was only for emissions reasons without monitoring. Now, the cat is important for things other than saving trees.

 

I responded in CAPS on some of the feedback above. So after everything i've been able to convey, does anyone have an idea or suggestion of something to check at this point or have a feeling of what the issue may be? One thing i forgot to do that i will do again tomorrow is hook up the fuel pressure gauge again to see what it does. But at this point if it shows no pressure and the car doesnt start but the fuel pump is clearly running then would that indicate a lack of fuel delivery somewhere between the gas tank and the fuel rail or injectors?
It seems like it's possibly a fuel delivery issue as when it first started acting up the other week it DID start and immediately stall a few times. Could the catalytic converter cause this symptom?
I'm still always learning things with cars. I joke that by the time i know how to fix most everything on a car we won't be allowed to have cars anymore or i'll be too old to want to bother.