Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Furnace wont ignite

A newly purchased home has a 1997 Bard furnace that wont ignite. When the thermostat is turned on to the heat mode the small blower in the furnace will come on, the blower inducer tubes are clear and the diaphragm is working the gas valve is opening and you can smell gas, however the flame has not been present. Then the furnace will shut down and go into the soft lockout mode. We replaced the filter and cleaned the ignitor however it looked good. On the circut board there was a little on/off switch and it was in the off position. I cant find any info on what this switch is for. It is in the front and slightly to the right of the circut board. I'm afraid to turn it to the on position until I know what it is for. Is there a way to test the ignitor to determine if it is bad?

You can check the ohms? Is the ignitor glowing bright orange when the gas valve opens and you smell gas? If you touched the ignitor with your hands, it is probably bad. The oil from your hands will cause them to go. Do you have any experience using a multimeter?

As far as the little switch goes, If the furnace has been running fine with the switch in the off position and now suddenly your not getting heat its probably not the switch.
Most likley youve got a cracked ignitor. Unplug the ignitor and test it for resistence. If it has total resistance then the ignitor is bad. If you do accidentaly touch the ignitor just sand it down gently with some sandpaper to get the greace from your finger off it.