[MikeDL]

Have gotten nowhere trying to figure out a very strange problem. Two weeks ago, after a heavy rain the night before (which may or may not have anything to do with this), it didn't want to start . It would crank strongly, barely catch, idle fine for 20 seconds, then the rpms would drop, the engine would stumble, then finally it would die. After a while I found that if I could hold the rpms above 2k, the engine would run perfectly; if I let off the pedal it would drop to idle and repeat the above symptoms. Finally, it seemed to go back to idling normally so I tried to drive it. The first few times I came to a stop, the car would stumble and try to die just as I let off the clutch, but that went away in a few minutes. Eventually it seemed totally fine and I drove it normally for about a week.

Then this week the same pattern (yes, another heavy rain) repeated but now the car won't start at all. New behavior though: again it cranks strongly but never tries to fire at all until just as I release the key it will cough gently a couple of times before stopping.

I've replaced the DME relay and fuel filter, checked the distributor cap & rotor, jumpered the fuel pump fuse... Any ideas?