I have an 1989 E150 4.9 FI when it's cold it is real hard to start the battery is strong and turns the engine over fine but it won't fire at all the first two or three tries then on the fourth or fifth attempt it will start to fire and chug a little but not enough to get it going when it finally does start it runs rough for a moment then runs and starts fine. I tried cycling the fuel pumps on and off before trying to see if it was fuel pressure but it didn't help. Thanks

 

Have you tried to check and see if it has fuel pressure with a gage at start up? You need to narrow it down if it is fuel or spark related.

 

Checked the pressure on the rail it didn't have any pressure with the key on and there was air in the rail after the air was bled off it had 60 psi and started right up. How is it getting air in the rail ?

 

clean the termanals on the fuel pump relay, that's what I did, now mine starts like it always did