The pilot estimated that he had 40 gallons of fuel on board when he departed Parkersburg, WV for New Carlisle, OH. During a night arrival at New Carlisle, he was unable to activate the runway lights by keying his microphone. Therefore, he diverted to Vandalia, OH. After landing, he made a telephone call to arrange for the runway lights to be turned on manually at New Carlisle. After a short wait, the pilot took off again for New Carlisle. However, shortly after taking off, the engine lost power and the pilot was unable to get a restart. Subsequently, he crash landed in a soybean field. An inspection of the aircraft revealed there was fuel in both auxiliary (tip) tanks, about 5.5 gallons in the right main tank, 1 pint in the left main, but no fuel in the line from the engine driven fuel pump to the carburetor. The fuel selector was found in the right main position. The pilot reported that this was the tank he selected for takeoff and was also the tank position selected when he experienced the loss of power.