hey guys, i'm new here, and i saw this thread. i've been having this exact same problem with my ranger ('01 2.5L 5spd) for the past few months. tried replacing plugs, wires, timing belt (it was original with 140k on it) checked fuel pressure, all is well....

now here's the odd thing i've noticed. when it's cranking over, it kinda kicks back, like the valve timing is off. that is what gave me the idea to replace the timing belt, but that's still not the problem. does anyone know how likely these heads are to have have valve issues?