alright, turns out it was the timing belt. the tensioner bearings were shot and it ruined the belt.

but anywho, now ive got it all back together, went to start it up, and its not idling on its own. it did the first couple times but now i gotta hold the gas on to keep it alive. when i rev it too fast, it dies, when i let off the gas, it dies.
any ideas?

 

Sounds like your timing is off. Happened to my friend and I after we rebuilt his motor.

You check your timing marks before you threw it all back together? Im also guessing this is the 3vz cause you say belt not chain.

 

oh yeah sorry about that, its the 3vz.

we checked the timing with one of those timing guns you clamp on a spark plug wire and it flashes and you check the timing.


i gotta give it gas to get it started but from there it either dies when i let off or idles on its own for about 5-10 mins then dies.

 

Did you touch the distributor when you did the belt. If not and the timing is off it probably means you got the driver side cam off by a tooth or two. Check the timing and maybe remove the upper cover and check the cam marks.

 

i took the cap off the distributer while aligning everything and it lined up fine and i put it back on.

i did two full turns and everything was still lined up.