Looking for some advice, help, direction, whatever you guys can offer.

My family adopted at 8 month intact male GSD.  He was left in a crate in the previous owners backyard for 15hrs daily and was only let out to use the bathroom and given food and water twice a day.  Needless to say he is a bit wild with no manners due to the lack of attention.  

At 8 months old he has developed a lot of bad habits; jumping, biting, will not respond to commands and refuses to be on a leash.  I know he doesn't look it in the picture but he is already 70+ lbs and 36" tall to the top of his head.  That's a big ol' puppy!!

I want to start with the basics but not sure where to start with him.  He's a good dog just needs guidance.  Would you suggest a obediance class or is there online training we can do at home.  I am 100% dedicated to giving my GSD my time and effort to make him the great dog I know he can be.  

I would really look into obedience classes, it will help you as much as him. It also socializes the dog with both dogs and humans.

First, these two words: patience, practice.  Those will be your mantra.  On to your question...

You can go with a trainer or you can do everything on your own; there are pros and cons to each.

If you want the fastest results, go to a trainer or any kind of basic obedience class.  That's not because trainers have some magic power, but put simply, trainers should know what they are doing and they can start working with you to get results immediately.  And note that "working with you" part...training the human is arguably the most important part of the process.  If you don't know how to work with the dog to reinforce the behavior you want, it's like trying to tie a shoe without ever being shown how the laces work.  Find a trainer who works with reward-based, positive training, learn what to do and how to do it, then patiently practice, practice, practice.

If you want to save a few bucks, or you're just a do-it-yourself type, you can do everything on your own, at home.  It just takes longer because you have to learn what to do before you can start doing it effectively, or you may find yourself undoing things you did wrong at first.  That said, dogs are malleable, so you can undo just about anything you mess up; don't be afraid to start trying things as soon as you read about them or see videos.  And that's an important point: there is more available now (even for free) to teach humans how to train dogs than ever before.  Like to read?  There are tons of books, blogs, message boards, and so on.  Prefer to see?  There are all sorts of training videos available, either paid (DVD, Blu-Ray, and so on) or free (YouTube).  The biggest problem with the free stuff is sorting through what's bunk and what's not.

In summary, if you need faster results or if you just learn better with hands-on instruction, work with some kind of trainer or obedience instructor, even on a limited basis.  A knowledgeable trainer can likely show you in just a day or two the basics of how to train, when to reward, what not to do, and so on.  Plan on it taking longer if you're going to read a book or order videos.  In either case, once you have the basics down, practice and patience are the name of the game.

Here are a few references that might help...

A short list of "do's and don'ts": http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/dog-training-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

A primer on dog training: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/training-your-dog

A brief series of very basic videos (training starts around the 6th video, but earlier videos are a good intro): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3B73E2767DC19590

Finally, I'd recommend avoiding any trainer or program focusing on outdated punishment-based, alpha/dominance paradigms.  While positive training may seem to some like "touchy-feely, hippie nonsense", the fact is that it works, and it arguably builds a better bond in the process.

Good luck!

Edit: spelling.

Exercise him to the point of tired. Don't feed to much beforehand. (Don't starve him) Then do treat/clicker based training. A vibrate/shock collar will work wonders for bad behavior correcting. I only need to "beep" setting with mine.

Try to socialize him as much as possible with people who are comfortable around a big excited dog.

Love him. That's probably the biggest part he missed. Great looking pup.

Some people need a hickory shampoo. Rinse. Repeat.
Good luck with the pup. You have your work cut out for you. And good on you for taking him in.

Thanks for the encouragement guys!   Looking through the links now

I am a big fan of actually going to obedience training. The reasons are many, but perhaps the most important one is that, even if you are an excellent dog trainer and can do the training yourself at home, going to a training venue provides a much richer distraction environment than you can usually manage yourself. Yes, you may have to suffer through a few weeks of private training to gain access to the group classes, but after you do gain access that's when the real training starts.

If you do decide to go to training make sure you go witness some actual training first to make sure you will be getting what you want. Any reputable dog trainer will let you observe both private and group classes.