hi, my ‘88 truck has a bad stumbling problem and will shut off upon taking my foot off the pedal. It’s a 2wd long bed extra-cab with 165k miles and has been parked for 2 years. I would start it up every month or so and it would seem to idle fine, so not quite sure the reason for this sudden issue. The exhaust smell has become noticeably rich so I suspect it’s the carburetor (no EFI on this truck). One thing also worth noting is the truck was very low on fuel (light was on) during those 2 years, perhaps the gas went bad and/or picked up sediment from the tank bottom which could have damaged the fuel filter. I recently added a gallon of gas from a can but did not help the idle problem. Any help/ideas appreciated. –thnx in advance

 

I would drive it more

 

i hope you were kidding. lol.
but seriously i tried driving it around the block a few times and the stumbling issue is horrible. having it shut off at every stop sign or throwing it into neutral and revving it to keep the engine from dying is not going to fix it IMO, unless maybe it is just bad gas and adding fuel treatment like STP and/or driving it and blowing it all out will maybe correct it, but i doubt it.

 

Look at the sight glass on the carb. The fuel level inside the bowl should be about halfway on that sight glass. How does it look? Possible problem with the float or needle/seat?