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I adjusted it and turned it back to where it was. Everything seems okay. I'm still needing to check for vacuum leaks. Could be any where with all these bone dry hoses!

I'm pretty sure the AC/Heat does not work

Yea it's strange. I'm thinking that maybe the sensor reading is integral to how fuel or fuel/air is mixed in the system. With no reading at all, it just keeps cycling this horrible ratio as if it's dead cold or something. Once I replaced that sensor, every thing has been solid.

Firstly, I appreciate all the responses. It's shifting into 4wd. On my list: Check timing HGs Compression Since I had already ordered the CTS part, I put that in there and that seemed to have fixed my issues. It's running like it was before and it's driveable again. It was really strange symptoms and it happened randomly one day and never stopped. Could the overheating have caused the very old CTS to fail somehow? Since it was doing the same thing with the old CTS just unplugged, I figured maybe I wasted money but there was seriously a lot of threads on here with people having failed sensors. Their symptoms sounded exactly like mine. I'm happy at least it will drive now. Another problem: When I bought it, it had a very low idle. You can hear a weird faint popping sound from the tailpipe every few seconds. The car shakes but it doesn't bother me. The tailpipe sound and shake go away with a little more RPM. It's back to it's current state with a low idle, but it doesn't stall or sputter. Adjusting the idle speed screw seems to have no affect.

I will take it apart and check. Had the CTS unplugged for a while at operating temp and I experienced no difference. Appreciate that tip though!

Thank you!

Thanks for the reply. I don't have an obd1 scan tool, but is there a way to check codes without one?

when I bought the car a few weeks ago it would start okay but idle very low. was still drivable though. one night I was driving and the crank pulley came loose and the engine overheated slightly. after getting it all back together it ran the same as before, but then a few days later it began idling high and fluctuating. when I give it just a little throttle it sputters and stalls. the idle is high enough that I can actually release the clutch and take off. it still sputters though, and not safe to drive anymore. I'm going to check vacuum lines on my next days off. (just have to locate them all) I'm a newbie when it comes to engines but I'm here to learn. I also ordered a new coolant temp sensor, as I've seen a lot of other people on the forum have the same issue resolved by changing the part. next would be connection contacts? at any rate.. it's going to take some time to diagnose the problem since I have no knowledge. any help I can get is appreciated. is there any info I can share which would help diagnosis? thanks in advance.