The ECU on these trucks are pretty advanced for its time. double barrel, feedback, coolant temps and much more if it is a California rig. This post is to help people having trouble with there carbs: "dying" not idling, wrong idle and other problems that people might have with there trucks caused by the ECU.
First check the basics. Does the engine have fuel, spark and compression? make sure your choke is working? timing? What I have found out with these carburetors is that they run great after a rebuild. Even after a rebuild they could still not function correctly without checking the ecu.
Next check if you have 12 v. going to the fuel cut solenoid. Without 12v or the computer not giving it the right dwell and it doesn't function it will default to a rich running condition.
Next: Check intermittent function of the solenoid by turning the key to on position but not running. you should hear a click or feel it turn on. with California 22r's there is alot more solenoids so your can listen for those as well. You could also wiggle the connector while the engine is running, if it dies then you have a problem.
Then wiggle the connector to the ECU not that hard but giving it some play. Wiggle the connector while the engine is running, if it dies then you have a problem.

If you hear your solenoids turning off then on intermittently then you most likely have an ECU problem
Take out the ECU

Open it up and check for cracks in the solder that are the pins to the terminals that connect the harness.

solder it up.

These are the soldered pins that i beefed up.

My 81 22r now idles fine and never dies. This would save you $500 instead of buying a new carb.

 

great thread. or hit me up and ill send you one

 

Thanks. Ya its really simple to solder these back into working order its just really easy to overlook the ECU. I remember going through the carb, valves, spark plugs, timing everything....5 times. finally after checking everything and finally checking out the ECU i opened it up and instantly saw those cracks. The movement of them like a bump or any movement at all would kill the truck since those cracks move and cause an open circuit. The california version is way more dependent on the ECU. federal still needs that solenoid as well. yota tech is awesome i'm really grateful they have these forums it helped me find this issue. hopefully people will see this thread and possible problem with the ECU before getting too frustrated. ya i would work on another ECU i love working on these motors.

 

From a guy who has 2 cali trucks I thank you.....great info for future reference if needed...