This is a 18hp Craftsman garden tractor. It probably 20 yrs old. It ran for a while and died. Resurected again and again quit. It sat all last season but I need to get it up and running. I am going to put a new battery for starters and of course change the oil. I am hoping with the new battery it will start right up. Am I a dreamer? Are there other things I should do prior?
Feel free to recommend a battery. At this point I'll just pick up a basic model at Walmart.
All your help is welcome. I am pure novice here. Thanks one and all.

if the battery works, its not the starter or battery problem. check oil, maybe it might be low oil and it has low oil protector, check that and if that dont work the gas tank is rusted, prorably? old gas, (or water mixed with gas) carb gummed, pickup tube clogged, tank gasket rotted, or the diaphram. try those =) get some carb cleaner / stabil and soak carb in it to get varnish /gum out

yea carb would be a important place to start. If you don't know how, or don't want to take it apart and clean it, you could get some SEA FOAM and pour some down the carb when, and IF it ever runs.

or carb cleaner or starter fluid. =) i heard on some other posts that this could be a coil problem. the tape thing gets burned off and moistoure seeps into it and stops. then when it dies the moisture evaporates and then works again...