startup trouble

Had a bit of car trouble today. I just got this car and it has a manual choke, which I've never had on a car before. Thus I have a couple of questions:

Leaving work this evening, after the car had sat for 8 hours, I tried to start the it (pulling out the choke. The car did not start. I pushed the choke in and tried to start it again...still nothing. Afraid that I flooded the carbs, I let it sit for an hour. Tried to start it again...again it wouldn't start.

First question: How do you know when to pull the choke out when starting the car?

In an effort to see if I was getting a spark, I pulled the spark plug wire off the number 1 plug and tried to start the car. This time it started up (though it was missing). While still running, I pushed the wire on the plug and got shocked.

Second question: Any idea why it would start like this?

What kind of Triumph is it that you are talking about here and what type of carbs?

As for getting shocked... I'll bet you did!

1970 TR6 with twin zenith carbs.

when was the car last serviced? is the battery in good condition? did you smell petrol when car was turnt over first & second time?

The first area I would look would be ignition. Has the car had a tune up lately? If this is a question you can't answer, give it one. New points, plugs, condenser, and plug wires.
If electronic ignition interests you, now would be a good time.
Does the car run smoothly at idle when warm? If not, it could again be a tune up or maybe a vaccuum leak.
Vaccuum leak culprits are often old leaky hoses or old elbow connections.
What year TR6 do you have?