Check your messages. I sent you a forum link with some wiring diagrams.

Thank you, that should help a little

I ended up just replacing the ground cable, The insulation was pretty crappy.
As long as it took me to get the part and get back on the ecm has more than likely been reset, the idle is still rough and it still don't start right hot. idle seems a bit slower, but i guess it might still come back up after the computer has actually relearned and all.

I haven't drove it enough to know if the dying problem got any better, should know by the end of the week.

Does the ecm have anything to do with how the transmition shifts in that truck with the aod.

would it be worth changing the capacitors in the ecm just to rule it out and save me trouble in the future, if so what capacitors would I need

I would say yes to replacing the capacitors. Post pictures of your circuit board if you get the chance.
How many of those blue capacitors are on it and what do they look like?
Here are the ones I used for mine



Here's a diagram of mine. The arrows represent the direction of the capacitor grounds.



Here's the video I followed for soldering technique

Have you ever visually inspected your relays for the ECM and the fuel pumps. They're on the driver's side fender liner. Sometimes they're in a bracket. Mine are just laying on the fender.
The one with the brown base is the ECM relay.
The one with the green base is the fuel pump relay.
It's an easy check to unplug them and look for corrosion in the sockets. Post pictures of them also.
The ECM relay powers the fuel pump relay and the ECM grounds the fuel pump relay coil, to activate the relay and send power to the fuel pumps
Also, an easy check is to reseat the fuses under the dash, to the left of the steering column.

I don't think it's as bad as it looks it's dirty but all of that white stuff is the protective coating peeling of the board.
out of curiosity, any clue what that connector deal is on it. that connector looking part is just caked with dirt for what ever reason.

There's a sticker on it I didn't notice somehow, It says "rebuilt by Dana engine controls"
not sure I'm convinced that it was actually rebuilt
also noticed a sticker on one of the chips says 1989, so I guess it ain't the first ecm that has been in the truck.

Should there be a gasket between it and the firewall?

I'm pretty sure that connector is for factory use, maybe for programming. It wouldn't hurt to clean it up some with q tips and alcohol.
Since you've got it out, it might be worth it to replace that one blue capacitor, although it doesn't look that bad.
Those capacitors don't have to look bad to be functioning improperly.
I'm looking at this on my phone, as opposed to my laptop, so that's my opinion, based on what I see.

I've got the capacitor ordered, hopefully it will be here Friday or Saturday

And yes, there should be a gasket at the firewall.

Did you have a chance to look at the relay sockets for your fuel pump relay and ECM relay?

Someone else will have to answer your question about the computer's interaction with the automatic transmission. I have no experience with automatic transmissions.
What transmission is in your truck?

That connector is the J3 test Port. I would leave it alone.

Is the gasket on the inside or outside of the cab, and what does it look like, do you know if anyone makes them

Fuel pump relay is good it's laying on the fender, the other is still in the bracket, and I have tried to get it out without success, just left it alone because it seemed to work. The bracket is really close to the fender in mine, a previous owner bent it to lay to Spector air filters there and removed the air box, but I'll see if I can get it out

I did a little research on the transmission and the oad in mine doesn't communicate with the ecm.

Ended up looking into that last night, from what I found some tuners for these computers connect with that port

Here's a thread about the gasket.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...cm-gasket.html
The relays are worth investigating. I've seen threads where they'll over heat or corrode and malfunction.

The capacitor got here to day. The old capacitor was bulged pretty bad on the bottom, but when I got it all back together I can't really tell much change at all. the hot start problem is still just as bad and it still dyes like it was doing before.

I popped the hood with it running and tugged, shook, and tapped on every that looked even close to electrical and I can't get anything to happen. only code is a 33 that is either egr sensor or the solenoid that controls the egr.

What is the next thing to check