it sounds like your spark plugs are mixed bro the o2 sens sound not cause it to back fire. the timing being off is a most likely cause the timing belt over time will jump a tooth or if its old it could stretch and make it off the mark too

step by step it sounds like its coming together!

It turns over no problem it just take forever to start. It'll start up and then cut off. Then I turn it over for a few seconds and it starts up and cuts off and I usually have to do that for about 5 or 6 tries. Then once it's started and running for more than a few seconds I can't give it gas or it'll cut off again. I usually have to wait for it to warm up before I can go anywhere.

A friend of mine said since the coolant temp sensor and the O2 sensor are bad that the engine doesn't know how much fuel to give because of lack of inputs and it might be running on a default program which sucks but the engine will still run.

Get it running right and seafoam the shit out of it i tell you! lol

haha, get to it son!  lol

I'm having a hell of a time with this ECT sensor. I bought one, put it in, and now my temp gauge is not working. I hooked up the ohm meter to the sensor after i started the truck to make sure the resistance was changing as the truck warmed up. It did and was within the acceptable range (200 ohm min change is what i've read everywhere). I also checked power going to the sensor and depending on the temp i've gotten between 8.4V and 10.7V so I don't think I have a short. The only thing I've come to conclude is the guy gave me the right sensor but maybe one with an incorrect resistance range. Also I see there are two identical sensors in the water neck. I was also told there maybe one in the block. One to the gauge, and two to the PCM? I checked the wiring diagram and only saw one going to the PCM.

So my questions are:
1) Are ECT sensors vin specific?
2) Is there more than one ECT sensor?

Thanks.

What all did it take to get it there?