I just came across this thread today and experience all the symptoms described. I've been told that this was normal. I was wondering if "wants_a_power_stroke" ever figure out what the problem was?
Ron W.

 

i found mine doing this too. turned out even thow the a/c swich was off but the air was on cold. my a/c was turning on and off. i moved the air to mid way or all the way to hot the a/c doesnt turn on and my truck idles just fine. but it blows hot air. maybe i have climent controle or something is messed up with a/c not sure.other then that a//c and heat all works good.

 

I just decided to live with it, and then it got stolen last May. Thankfully, my 2002 doesn't do it *knocks on wood*

 

Not related to your current problem, but I notice your 01 was stolen in May. My 02 was stolen November 05 from a golf course parking lot in Tucson. I suspect you are near there, since you are buying 99% bio. The PSD 4x4's are popular with the Coyotes to go get illegals from down south of there. Thats what mine was used for.
I was lucky enough to recover my truck. I have now installed a Jody Tipton chip with some additional settings besides stock. If you buy one from him, call him and he'll tell you how to use it as an anti-theft device by using it in a no-start setting.
Back to your current problem: I've seen a lot of posts about CPS failure symptoms. Never heard one like yours, but a replacement is pretty cheap, and you would then have a spare if one fails; could leave you stranded. I saw a post a while back which seemed very technically definitive, and it concluded that you should stick to the Ford CPS, not switch to the International one, which changes the timing enough to make the engine sound better but run a little less efficiently.
Good Luck
Warren
PS: seriously consider an antitheft device of some sort. Our trucks are pretty easy to break into and drive off.

 

Warren:

Mine was stolen right off my driveway in Glendale. The officer that did the report said most likely it was towed off since I never heard it start up, and my window faces the driveway. The first thing I did with the 2002 I have now is have a good alarm system put in. In addition to the normal "break in" alerts, it has a proximity sensor, similar to what the old Viper alarms had, and also a tilt sensor. If the truck is lifted more than 1 degree from any angle, it sets off the alarm. I'm also going to have LoJack installed when I can afford it, and eliminate the front door lock cylinders and rods.

BTW: the idle issue was tied to my old truck. The original post was back in Feb. Thanks for the info about the Ford CPS, though. I was going to buy a blue one, but I think I'll stick with the black one.

 

Good for you on the alarm. I also think the Lo-Jack is the best, but pretty spendy.

Warren