"The fuel pump is acting as it should,"

Pardon me for questioning that statement, but I've found that people are sometimes misled by the initial 2-second buzz when the Key is turned on. Are you sure the pump runs "as it should" all during cranking?

If not, my theory is that the wet (just damp maybe?) plugs are from the residual pressure after that Key-On buzz. And that the FI ECU may be missing the required timing pulses from the Ignition controller to run the pump for cranking and running. This was a 700 problem here a few months ago, in a thread that ran some 60 entries.

There is an OBD Mode 2 test for this IGN-to-FI ECU signal. It only takes 2 minutes to run it, so I'll throw it in here just in case...

ICU-to-FI ECU Pulse Test

1) Turn the Ignition Key On (position II)

2) Put the OBD probe into socket #2 of the OBD test module

3) Initiate Mode 2 by pressing the test button twice (about 1 full second each time). The LED should start flashing...

4) Crank the engine with the starter (2 or 3 seconds is enough, just a few revs)
If the FI ECU "sees" the ICU pulses, the LED will stop flashing, display a 3-3-1 code, then resume flashing.

If the 3-3-1 was displayed, the FI ECU should have reacted by energizing the Fuel relay, pumps etc. while cranking.

5) Turn the Key off to end the test. Remove probe from socket #2
--
Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.