Hal,

Sounds like you have been pretty thorough. I assume the throttle body is clean and the base idle adjusted correctly. The engine coolant temperature sensor could be a possible source of the problem. The 700/900 FAQ under Sensors gives the resistance readings for various temperatures. If this checks out OK, there is an old posting from Don Willson in the archives, search for "cold start problem". It describes Volvo TSB # 23708. The cold stall problem apparently affected all '87 and early '88 700s with LH Jetronic 2.2 and automatic transmissions. The ECU in my '87 740 is 0 280 000 544. The ECU in my '88 740 is 0 280 000 554. The '87 always stalled in the morning when put in gear. I swapped ECUs and now the '87 never stalls and the '88 usually stalls. Volvo released a service kit (p/n 3531106-7) which is a pod of electronic parts you can splice into the wiring harnass under the dash to workaround the problem. It costs $188 at the local Volvo dealership. The fix was incorporated into later ECUs. NA - 0 280 000 554/ Turbo - 0 280 000 591. I personally am shopping for a used ECU ending in 554. Anybody have a spare they would be willing to sell me? Best price I have found so far is $125 at a local junkyard.

Happy hunting,

Bruce

p.s. The problem is temperature dependent ie. ambient temperature from about 55-75 F.