Am about to start a road trip and am nervous about the engine hesitating on acceleration. It almost sounds and feels like it's running on only 3 cylinders until something catches and then it returns to full power. Could this be an indication of a fuel injector starting to go? Or is the fuel regulator somehow off? It did this before for some time and then corrected itself. I just ran good fuel injector cleaner so clogged injectors don't seem likely.
It rained for the first time in nearly a year the night before. The engine started very sluggishly for the first time in months and threatened to flood. Could this be related to the above?

 

When was the last time the distributor cap and rotor replaced? Plugs? Plug wires? This is where I would start first.

Your model lies right in the middle of the biodegradable wiring harness years which can cause all kinds of electrical gremlins. Has the engine harness ever been replaced?

 

Thanks for reply. I think it does have the biodegradable wires as a few of the wires were naked copper. Tho that could have been shorts. No replacement of the wiring harness. Plugs, rotor and cap all replaced a year ago.
It feels like it's the gas supply. The little hesitation that happens is always just as I push the pedal. And it starts badly when it's damp and floods very easily. All this seems to MOSTLY go away once the engine is hot but even then at times it hesitates like on the steep hill to my place - it seems to be running on three cylinders for a bit and then it corrects itself.
The timing is close to correct but the base of the distributor is frozen with rust or something and I've hesitated using force on that as it basically runs great. Do fuel injectors 'begin' to go bad or do they just stop working?
What is the 'correct' way to start this car? Because it floods so easily, I push the pedal down once and hold it down. the engine will turn a bit long 4 or 5 seconds and then lurch into life. When it floods it won't start for an hour so I I'm really careful to not give it too much gas.

 

stop right there. if your wiring harness is full of cracked insulation, ALL BETS ARE OFF. you will get all sorts of crazy erratic behavior until the harnesses is completely replaced.

re: distributor, squirt some AeroKroil (or PB Blaster) on the rusty bits that won't unstick.

re: fuel injectors, they indeed can be partially bad such that they have dribbly weak spray patterns.

re: starting car, ALL fuel injected cars, you shouldn't have to even touch the gas pedal to start. yes, I've had older cars that started better if I gave the pedal a very slight tap a second into cranking, but under no conditions should you floor it or have to give it any more than the slightest crack. optimal starting process, assuming everything is good, turn ignition on, wait a half sec or so for the fuel pump to prime, THEN hit the starter for 2-3 seconds and they should catch.

 

OK Thanks.