I've been searching and researching this problem and it sounds very similar to others but somewhat different. I have a 99 Ram 1500 with 71,000 miles. It dies at first start in the morning and after revving it up for approx 1 min or so, it idles and accelerates just fine.This is a new issue. I changed plugs, wires, distributor cap about a year ago and has run just fine up until a month ago. I've read that maybe TPS or IAC or throttle body or oxygen sensor. There are no CEL codes and it runs fine after less than a minute of throttling and will start up just fine the rest of the day, Only on the first cold start it does this. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and commenting on this.

 

When the truck is first started it is in closed loop (open loop? I forget what it's called I just know the computer ignores the O2 sensors). Your truck could be flooding itself out. Which would be coolant temp sensor or TPS. Do you smell gas? Does it take a few more cranks to start (then normal) the second time? This type of stuff is very hard to diagnose over the internet.

 

Thanks. No, I don't smell any gas.... it starts right up but I have to keep my foot on the pedal or else it won't idle and will die... after it dies, it starts right up again the second time and I keep my foot on the pedal for approx 15-30 seconds and it doesn't stall anymore when I let off the gas.

 

That is telling me it's flooded or your battery is dying

 

That sounds logical. I've been thinking about buying a new battery anyways because 1) it's starting to get cold up here in northern MN and I don't want to get caught with a dead battery later on when it gets really bad out, 2) I've had the truck for 3 years and have never replaced it and ain't no telling how long the guy I bought it from had it in there, 3) It seems to drain easily when I leave the door open while I'm working on it, 3) That white stuff builds up on the posts quickly. It still cranks strong so I never thought that it might be dying but I will buy a new one this week and see if that does it. Thanks again. I'll report back. I've had trouble with it not starting when it got very cold out and it flooded. Then I smelled gas and it wouldn't start for ****. I had to take all the plugs out and dry them and put them back and it started right up after that. If it is flooding now, wouldn't it not start at all? Thanks for your input!

 

These trucks have a lot of electronics and need a good battery. If your battery ever dies and you go to restart it you have to hold the pedal down for a bit until the battery charges. So it could be there battery. Please report back as it helps people who may have the same problems.

 

Sounds like it wouldn't hurt to pull the IAC and spray it with carb cleaner and use some Q tips with carb cleaner on them to clean out the hole. The tip might be gunked up and sticking in the hole or the threads on it might be dirty and making the little motor in it bog down. I've had three batteries over the years get weak on me (noticeably slower starts over time) and never had an idle issue because of it.

 

It could be quite a few things like the coolant temp sensor which is fairly cheap or the iac, cleaning it and the throttle body as a whole couldn't hurt to do. If it's only the first time in the morning too, you could have the fuel pressure tested, I recently had to put in a new fuel pump, from reading around for these trucks Delphi seems to be the best, great price at Rock Auto online. Or battery. My battery is actually getting fairly old, from 2012 I believe from the date code, an ac Delco one from when I got the truck used 1.5 years ago, mine is fairly old with a bit of miles on it though, a 95 with over 225k now, but starts up instantly with the new pump now

 

I had one bad battery cause me idling problems.
That's what I told him and he said his battery is weak. I think it's flooding itself out because bad coolant temp. He said before he'd have to hold down the gas pedal.

 

Ah, new coolant temp sensor and battery and you should be set to go for awhile, I've found these ram trucks to actually be quite hardy as time has gone on, only occasionally needing work, and when needed, good quality parts are shockingly cheap online compared to stores