Engine dies when putting into drive
 

Really didn't want to post a problem message already after just getting my truck yesterday. I just drove it home from town (about 10 miles) and let it idle at the end of my road while I checked the mail box. Idle rpms are fine. I got back in and shifted into drive and the engine died. Started right back up and rpms were a little low but I continued on like nothing happened.

I pulled into my driveway and decided I'd rather have it backed in toward my house so started a 3 point turn (well 5 or 6 with these things). I pulled forward and put it into revers and backed up. Shifted back into drive and it died again. Started right back up and I finished parking.

The other thing I noticed when it started back up was the fuel gauge had dropped 1/4 tank from 3/4 to 1/2. Yesterday we couldn't get the fuel gauge to register completely full at first and then when I refilled it mid-trip the gauge went past full.

So, fuel pump? Fuel filter maybe? There are no check engine lights on. Figure I'll have my mechanic check it out anyway. 12 yrs old and 88k miles.

Intermittent problems are hard to diagnose. But sometimes fuel pumps act like that when they are failing. I would definitely check fuel pressure and electrical operation of the fuel pump.

With the fuel gauge issue it could just be an intermittent electrical connection. At that age and mileage it has done a lot of sitting around so there is the possibility of corrosion where you don't want it if it sat for a long time with low fuel level.

This sounds like the typical sticky IAC - Idle Air Control. It's the way the PCM regulates the idle RPM and the typical failure mode is when you put it in drive, the PCM can't raise the RPM enough to keep it from stalling.

It could also be a vacuum leak, especially the dreaded PCV elbow.

The fuel gauge might be a float that's sticking or not reading correctly. Was it sitting for a long time before you bought it?

Thanks for the tips. The first owner put 68K miles on the truck in 8 yrs and the last owner only did 20k since 2014 - so not too bad.

Mechanic called - fuel pressure looks really good. Idle during test drive was 500 or a little lower on rpm which was definitely low per spec. They found the throttle body was pretty gummed up and cleaned it out. Idle jumped up to 650 rpm after that. If that's all it was then I'm pleased.