Hard start air idle problem plz help!

Hi guys name is David I have been working with a couple guys on another dodge forum trying to iron this mess out figured I would give it a go over here.

98 ram 1500 4x4 5.9
symptoms

whirles over 5-10 times almost killing the battery, smash the gas pedal to get it to start. once running air idle control intermittently opens sucking HUGE amounts of vacuum and leaning the motor into a stumble. eventually it will close the valve and level off. also snap throttle will tell it to close or it will reopen fairly quick. I get power surge issues occasionally if I hop in and start driving when she is cold.

<a few small things to note..>
I had a couple injectors that wanted to leak they took allot of tweeking to get the system to dry up.

if I back out the screws on the fuel rail enough so the injector to leak a little it seams to semi cure the starting issue?

also if I shut the truck off and immediately crank it again it will fire right up. if I wait 10 mins its back to cranking the hell out of it even if the motor is warm.

I was showing a misfire code on cyl 3 and an 02 sensor the codes seem to have cleared them self's.as cel is off.

is there a torque spec on the fuel rail that would effect like a gap on injector?
if i didn't know better I would say im over tightening the rail sinching off fuel supply to one side of the motor then i loosen it and it seems to fix it minus leaky injector lol. scratch head!

Things I have done since this problem started...
plugs
cap
rotor
fuel pump
all 3 sensors on the intake keg..
new O rings
tested signal on all injectors
replaced plenum and intake gasket sets
new stat
water pump gaskets
and timing chain and gears
all fuses are good

things I am considering
bad PCM
Bad O2 sensor
I have a small pin hole leak in my filler neck going to the tank. possible air ration happening in the fuel pump? then its pushing 93 octane soda to the rail and confusing the hell outa pcm?

I pulled all the plugs back out today after putting 100 miles on them with the truck running like this and all plugs are clean.

also once its rolling down the road it runs great.

no noticeable gas in the oil levels good oil clean and thick!

maybe purge vavle charcole system thingy I know nothing about?

(wish i could rip it off and toss it in the trash can!)

once more little side note I purchased this truck a bout a month ago.

when I got it it fired right up even sitting in the winter battery was dead we had to jump it so I know prev owner did not running it before I got there.

I drove it like a baby for 2 days maybe an hr or 2 per day then all this crap started. prev owner has the o2 sensor past the cat out of the pipe?
looks like he had exaust work done and they put the wrong size fitting in for the o2. but like I said this truck ran amazing for a couple days.

any ideas? also if you see anything in my list you would rule out right away please let me know. this problem is costing me some money and a TON of time. Thanks in advance David aka Positiveimpakt

I would start by fixing the rear 02 so it's in the pipe and if that doesnt do it unplug the front 02 and test drive.

Highly possible that 2 days of driving, tune pcm was relearning from being disconnected for so long and that rear 02 not being in the pipe will **** with it a bit

thanks man

Ill get her in to the exhaust shop tomorrow and maybe go grab a couple new o2 sensors.

NTK or bust

Well guys no luck on the o2 sensor fix =(

I am now leaning more towards a stuck injector.

I took the truck out and got caught by a stopped train I idled for about 5 mins then got a cel and started running really ruff turned around and b lined for the house.

truck leveled off but I could smell a hint of raw gas at the exhaust also water drip at the tail pipe. coolant levels still holding fine. also noticed I dumped about an 8th of a tank on my ride to the house 2 miles up the street.

I have a spare motor here for my rebuild project I am thinking tomorrow ill pull the fuel rail off of it and pop new o rings on the spare injectors I have and install them any pointers or tips?

or is there anything else you can think of that would cause the truck to suck this much gas in?

pulled the fuel rail today pressure tested and cleaned all 8 injectors re installed fuel rail holding pressure now but only starts once with no pedal then back to hard starts?

if i pull the fuel rail and reinstall it I will get 1 good start out of the truck..

I am going to clear pcm tonight and try running it tomorrow. the idle does seem better, but I feel like the same problem still exists if that truck will not crank on first whirl.

its so hard to start that today after about the 6th rotation the insulation on the ground wire began to smoke. then the battery died I had to let it sit then jump it!

I am about to rip this 360 out and put a 355 with a carb under the hood.

The fuel filter clean? You giving the fuel pump time after turning key to ON?