Inconsistent starting in 1998 sunfire 2.2l engine, auto trans

[talon98.2.2sunfire]

Hello all! new to the forum here.

So I drive a 1998 sunfire, about 190000 km on the clock, its a coupe, beautiful car engine idles smoothly, other than a loose motor mount sometimes you faintly feel it, runs beautifully, never stalled. lots of work done to the car as i plan to boost it in the future. it has a new map sensor, all new fuses for everything, new coolant temp sensor, new throttle position sensor, brand new exhaust system, new fuel filter, new fuel pressure regulator, all the tune up stuff wires plugs etc, not sure if it matters it has a sound system in it, new ignition control module and coil packs, you get the point. the pump works fine, i have had it tested and fuel pressure is nice and high, just to get that outta the way. the issue here im having is strange.

So. before all the work i did, its not as bad now but will still do it, when its hot out and i turn off the car, and maybe 45 mins later i will go out to restart it, it will crank for a while and slowly start to start up, if i floor the gas pedal it will instantly start. on cold mornings [ i live in canada and its winter here ] if i go to start the car, it will start and instantly stall, i found pumping the pedal helped it to stay on first try. this one seems to be worse when its frosty out, not just snowy. usually if its just snow its ok. i decided to go on the forums for this issue when i went for gas today and upon restarting the car, when the starter reaches the point where it wants to start the engine and its not cranking but just making that noise of the engine about to fire up, it sat in that position for a few seconds before actually firing up. this is making me nuts and i cant figure this one out. what could it be? also, if i turn off the car and instantly restart it, will fire up no problem.

 

[melsg5]

have you ever pulled a plug or too when this happens to see if they are soaked in gasoline?
Have you checked the fuel pressure regulator vacuum line to see if there is gasoline in the line?
is the check engine light on?
is the spark plug gap set to .040?
are you using AC-Delco plugs?

 

[talon98.2.2sunfire]

I have and yeah they seem a little wet, not too much. if i just floor the gas it will start every time, much easier. the fuel pressure regulator line checks out, i think. theres fuel in there. or maybe thats a bad thing? doesnt seem like a lot it drips a little bit, thats about it though. dripped a few drops when it was replaced, i was in the shop watching. the car itself, when on, runs beautifully. this is the only thing wrong with the car and i just want to fix it for the sake of having it fixed since everything else works. the plugs are gapped to whatever spec they were when made. i recently put new platinum plugs from canadian tire in there. pretty sure they are not delco plugs.

when i bought the car, it was sitting for about a year. the old plugs had like grass in the spark plug holes, one of the porcelains were cracked, and one of the gaps were closed. looks like the original plugs that came with the vehicle in 1998. the gaps are all the same now and havent changed, ive had it checked recently. on the original plugs, at one point, it felt like it flooded so bad it wouldnt start at all independently. theft light was flashing the whole time, however, second i hit the gas it fired right up for me. also when this stalling happens the theft light will blink five times. i think its just to signal the engine has stalled though. it will never do this when hitting the gas.

 

[melsg5]

if the vacuum line going to the FPR drips fuel replace the FPR.
the plugs are made for many different cars using different gaps, you have to check the plug gap before installing them.