Gentlemen

I've been pouring over the archives and FAQ's to try and educate and narrow down my idle and bucking problems.

Symptoms are changing....my idle is now at 750 in the cold and surging slightly.I have a dead spot in the pedal as soon as i press it down....i'm still getting backfires but car appears to run better when hits operating temp.

Still no smooth acceleration that I was used to prior to this problem cropping up a couple of weeks ago.

Air filter is new, fuel filter is about 60k on it....

I unplugged the AMM (ignition off) and tried the limp home test and car would die unless I revved the engine higher then normal while letting out the clutch. Car didn't run well at 35 mph ( suggesting that FPR isn't spewing into intake manifold) I smell fumes in the vacuum hose of FPR but not overpowering.

vacuum hose from pvc not snug on intake manifold nipple. How snug shold they be to eliminate air to enter after AMM? (Can lift off with no effort). I still have oil caked old wiring harness....do symptoms point to any ONE thing? I'd hate to jsut throw money at the old gal since FI problems can be costly to trouble shoot when replacing part by part.

I haven't sprayed the carb cleaner at the vacuum hoses or injectors to see if idle jumps yet.

i have new plugs wires rotor and dist cap (10mths old).

The old girl needs some big work... brake master cyclinder, center driveshaft bearing replacement, rear muffler, shocks & struts, rust removal, and tires to mention just a few. I'm not looking forward to big FI system replacement issues.

I'm thinking of thowing in the towel and putting her out to pasture.

Rare manual m-46 with fluid od 740 gle with 235K on it

Please pitch in on diagnosis or other thoughts of what it could be.

Mark