Welcome aboard!

I agree with Casey. Sounds like the GP tips are swollen. If so, cylinder compression or combustion won't usually blow them out, although I try that before putting tools on them. Sometimes it works, but most of the time, not. There are tools available to pull them out, but it's best, most successful (and ultimately what is most often required), to remove the injector. Plug the flash hole (in the pre-cup), break off the tip, push it back into the pre-cup, then retrieve it with a magnet or blow it out with shop air.

Ideally, the plugs should be extracted and replaced. However, if there's only 1 or 2, I'd not mess with them. The engine will start, as you've seen, without all the plugs working. Extracting swelled plugs is not without risk that can require a more complicated repair (or overhaul). If it comes down to a coin toss, and the old plugs win, just tighten them back in and put up with a little bit of smoke. The EPA won't like it, but they don't like you already.