I did a fresh wrap of the 42-pin connector wires with silicone stretch tape to prevent the chafing issue.

The test pins for each cylinder (and common) on the 42-pin.

 

Thanks Tugly! I printed it out for future use..
It is up and running and runs pretty good. The code is gone, I would have to guess it came from when I cranked the engine to blow crud out of the glow plug holes. Must have stored it then.
I took it for a short, but "spirited" romp and it runs out pretty good. I am going to drive the snot out of it for a couple of days with stanadyne in the tank and keep an eye on things. The "cheap" scanner does have the ability to do controbution tests and it showed 8 to be low and given it is an old AE it is most likely the issue. (I should have just swapped it when I had the chance) if the miss comes back in the next week or so I will just replace it with the AD I ordered from clay. If I have to hang on to that extra injector and eat the $100 core then so be it. I can't come up with a core anyway without replacing one of mine and it would be kind of nice to have one laying around anyway.
The FRX is completely absolutly awesome! I never thought my engine was that loud until the noises were gone. Now all i hear is TURBO! (and some tire complaints)

 

If you haven't yet done the full Hutch mod (eliminate quick-disconnects), I'd suggest that as well. You'll find a noise difference between a 1/4 tank and a full tank with those still in place.

 

Its on the list to do this summer.
It seems to be a little long cranking when warmed up. Is that fairly normal for a little bit until all the air is out of the heads?

 

Well, it was back at it again yesterday. I went to pull my camper out of winter storage for the summer. Truck ran fine down no load but as soon as I hooked up it was all over. No power, missing like hell. Had a hard time getting going at stop lights (swear to god I hit every f@#$ing one of those). After I did the origional o-ring job two weeks ago I did the contrabution test on the little "cheap" scanner (autoxray a7000) I managed to borrow and it said #8 fail. at the time I thought it was probably still some air in the heads and the truck was running pretty good so I buttoned it all up and drove it quite a bit with no real problems. shutter came and went but I just thought it was getting rid of air. Now after yesterday I am going to go ahead and replace that #8 AE with the reman AD I bought from clay. I hope that with both the fail on the test and the ovservation that #8's seem to go bad fairly frequently that will cure the problem. I might be able to get the scanner back if it doesn't run better but that might take some bribing the owner with a case of his favorite beverages. He was kind of miffed I had it so long last time.

Any other ideas?

 

#8 fails the contribution test many times on a good running truck. I don't think replacing #8 will get you anywhere, but I guess we'll see.

 

Read about 90% of this thread, and seeing an issue with having a load, might want to look at dropping the fuel tank. Looking at the intake filter setup that is in there just might be your issue.
#8 fails contribution on every truck I have seen or worked on. Also #5 or #3 depending on the cps color. Have you checked your fuel pressure?

 

Dropping the tank is on my to-do list sometime this summer. Only thing is would I still have problems with a full tank of fuel? It is my understanding that when most of the problems start in there it is when you are getting to around 1/4 of a tank or so. I don't let my truck hardly ever get below 3/8 tank and I have problems regardless of how much is in there. That said I was thinking about checking my fuel pressure already. I have wondered about my fuel pump maybe getting weak. I don't know how long it has been on there, might be origional but at 186K but I kind of doubt it. It sounds like these things don't usually last that long. I put the gold spring in my FRX so I should be in the 60's at idle right? with how much of a drop when reved up?
After changing out #8 today it does seem to run a bit smoother. Not perfect but a bit better. (thought that last time i worked on it too) What is so maddening is the shutter doesn't happen every time I accelerate. Sometimes I can go up thru the gears and it is fine, the next time it shakes like hell at around 1700-1900 then stops above 2000.
I am going to try getting ahold of that scanner again and see if i get another cylinder other than 8 on the contribution test. I have the newest "blue" motorcraft cps. The one Clay is selling right now. The grey one is in the glovebox for a spare.
I will try keeping everybody up to date on what i find, however we are getting really busy at work so my free computer time is going to be limited.

 

Even with a full tank, if your mixing chamber screens in the tank are plugged up it won't flow enough fuel.

The mixing chamber screens are in the white plastic canister on the sending unit.

 

Ok, that makes sense. I thought there was just the foot thingie. When I get my fuel pressure testing stuff rigged up that would be evident from a drop in fuel pressure under hard throttle then right?
What kind of filtration are folks using after doing the tank mods pre-pump? I have read on here where some folks are having their FP go out frequently after doing the mods from the filtration being too restrictive.

 

Yeah. Before brandishing the Buck$Zooka, try a few free fixes first:

1. Pull the IDM, clean all your connections with contact cleaner, and refresh the dielectric grease.
2. Check the ground to the IDM. Make sure it's solid with no corrosion.
3. I know you did the 50-cent mod, but take this into consideration:

 

I ohmed out everything between the 42 pin and both connectors with the diagram you posted earlier and everything was fine. Then I checked the harnesses under the valvecover THRU the external plug and they were fine, It was hard to keep a good connection with my tester when I wiggled the wires but I didn't see any fluctuations. I could pull the covers again and test it all the way to the injector from the 42 pin (like I probably should have done in the first place. For the price maybe I will just replace the harnesses and redo the 50 cent then I can rule them out for sure. A problem there does fit like a glove.
I can feel a slight and i mean slight shake at idle that only comes on when it is warmed up. When its cold it is smooth as silk.
Going to clean my back pressure sensor tube today for something to do while I wait for parts to check fuel pressure. Try to do one little thing off the list every day. I did get the #8 injector out, the new one in and the truck running in a little over 2hrs yesterday so I am getting quicker, not sure if that is a good thing or not though.

 

I got the fuel pressure gauge installed yesterday then took it on a 100 mile round trip this morning pulling my boat and it ran great. Pressure maintained 60-65psi at all times which is right in the slot for the gold spring I put in the FRX. Which by the way still has me super impressed with the quietness of the engine. There was Some missing at first that I am attributing to air from changing #8 on monday (fingers crossed) but after a 45 minute interstate speed run it never missed again the rest of the trip. The acceleration is way more smooth since cleaning out the back pressure tube and sensor. I do still have the slight shake at idle when warmed up so most likely there is still something injection related going on but it doesn't seem to bother it while driving. I managed to sell some old stuff I had sitting around here and have enough money to buy a laptop and AE to help diagnose exactly what is going on more easily. I must say that reman injector from Clay is working great. I was a little worried about reman after reading about problems here but financially it was the way I have to go. Now I hope it stays that way.
Thanks everybody for the help so far, hope it is good to go for a while now.

 

Don't use the Utah quarters?

 

No silly, just make sure the quarter is right-side up.