I did check for vacuum leaks. There is a vacuum hose that attaches to the front of the throttle body. It was attached but not all the way shoved on the port. So I shoved it back in all the way and it made no difference. The only other vacuum possibility I saw was a little 90 degree rubber elbow on what I think is the MAP sensor. Not even sure that is a vacuum but I assume it is. That checks out OK. Didn't see any other vacuum hoses. Also checked the throttle linkage to be sure the throttle was returning all the way back. It was. Oh, and I used a new throttle body gasket. I was a little concerned that the gasket between the air filter housing and throttle body had crumbled apart but I don't see that being problematic.

It's killing me that I don't run to advanced auto (they're open today) and pick up one of their $30 IACs they have in stock to see if it solves my problem but I just can't pull the trigger on an aftermarket part like an IAC.

 

UPDATE: I tested each of the four contacts in the IAC harness plug for "stepping" using my multimeter. Indeed, all four points were "stepping". They'd go from zero to about 14 volts back and forth. Each of the four contacts. My circuit is working fine. I also ordered a new IAC today from my local Dodge dealer. They have one coming tomorrow so I will pick it up and have another update tomorrow. Interestingly, the dealer quoted me $115. I saw it on Ebay (they have lots of OEM Mopar parts on ebay) for as little as $61. But that was standard shipping (free) and would take 4 - 8 days. One place was willing to ship overnight for $25 (his IAC cost $68). I got the dealer to lower his price to $93 so I get it for the same cost. I preferred to buy it from the dealer because truthfully they have always been a big help to me finding parts which isn't always easy for a 24 year old truck. One time they spent 45 minutes looking up and finding a $5 bushing for my auto trans linkage. They obviously lost $$ on that sale. I was grateful for their effort so I need to repay them when I can. He did take about ten minutes hunting down my IAC today. Like I say, not always easy finding parts for a 24 year old vehicle.

More tomorrow and hopefully we can close the book on this thread.

 

FINAL UPDATE

Listen carefully because I am too embarrassed to say this more than once. I wouldn't tell you at all if it wasn't for the anonymity of the cyber world.

My problem is fixed. Got a new Mopar IAC, put it on and it did not fix the problem. Idle still at 1700 RPM. After 12 cuss words I went back and inspected all my vacuum hoses again. Sure enough, I found the vacuum hose that goes into the front of the throttle body was cracked. Replaced the hose convinced that would solve my problem. Nope! Still idled at 1700 RPM. After 24 cuss words I decided to pull the throttle body off again and clean it again. Once I removed the throttle body I looked underneath it and discovered the gasket was rotated 180 degrees the wrong way. And to think I clearly remembered to ask myself five times before I put it on the first time to "BE SURE IT IS ORIENTED THE RIGHT WAY"! And I still put it on the wrong way. How freaking embarrassing!!!

She idles at 750 rpm again.

<sheepishly walking away with tail stuck between my legs>

 

Every "mistake" you are willing to talk about helps some else to avoid it.
Glad its fixed and now you have some spare parts

 

LOLOL.

Don't feel too bad. We ALL have stories like that. At least it's fixed. That is all that is really important.

 

Thanks for letting me off easy, guys.

One thing about owning a 24 year old truck...even if I spend $100 on a part that turns out not to solve my problem I don't feel real bad about it. The way I see it, the part it is replacing is probably going to need to be replaced someday soon anyway. Now that I have a brand new Mopar IAC I will not worry about having to replace it ever again.

 

Whatever! I have bought all of my parts for my 88 Dakota 3.9 V6 from NAPA Auto Parts. No junk!

 

Ha....when I restored my 90 vert I replaced every single piece of brake hardware in an attempt to figure out why I had no brakes. Gravity bled, pressure bled, vacuum bled...nada. Turned out I had swapped the brake lines at the MC for front and back. Something stupid caused me two weeks of headaches chasing that down.

 

Makes me feel better (albeit at your expense).

I'm not a mechanic' but I didn't drop out of right field either. I'm fairly capable of fixing most things an average slug like me needs to fix. Cars, appliances, house stuff, etc.. Now and again I will do something totally boneheaded. I was getting the feeling lately that this IAC project was falling into that category. That's why I went back and retraced my steps from the beginning hoping it would reveal itself. Sure enuf!!

 

I was working on a Corsica for a friend..... was having brake issues. Traced it to a popped line in the rear. So, went to the parts store, got some line, cut out the bad stuff, put in the new..... Went to bleed the brakes. They would bleed just fine, but, with all the bleeders closed, no brakes...... Spent a day and a half bleeding, trying to get all the air out..... Still no joy..... So, topped off the master cylinder once again, had my partner in crime pump the brakes, while I looked underneath. Sure enough, brake fluid spraying everywhere. Seems I had forgetten to tight up my flare union........ Tightened that up, and the brakes STILL wouldn't work right...... looked underneath, and yep, brake line popped just to the inside of where I had cut it off.... So, cut off some more, reflared the line, Made SURE everything was tight.... bled the brakes. Nice firm pedal, with little travel. YAAAAAAAHHHH!

And I used to BE a mechanic....... I felt like a real idiot when I saw what the problem was...... My helper just looked at me funny, and then burst out laughing......