Yep, now I'm leaning towards the switch as well... Unfortunately I have to go to work shortly (damn night shift), but I will screw with it tomorrow when I get home. Off hand does anyone know which is the 12v constant at the switch? I want to try to "hotwire" it so that the truck thinks the key is at run position to see if I can get it started. I figure if the switch is the problem, hotwiring it to a run state should let it start when I crank with the key, in essence bypassing the switch for that particular position. If not, no problem, it should only take a few minutes with the multimeter to find out...

Thanks all for the help!

 

Red or Red/White is constant 12v. Pink will power PCM & ignition

 

OOOOOOOHHHHH YAAAAAHHHH!

Thanks to all for your help!!!

It was the ignition switch! Hot wired the constant to the pink ignition wire and she fired up in less than two seconds! Although I did find out that these parts are now a rare item. GM dealers around here want anywhere from $210-$260 CDN! From various sources on the net, ~$170 shipped, I called partsource here, and a genuine AC Delco switch $149 taxes in. Sure they have to order it in, but none of GM's 1-2 day crap, they said 2-3 hours!

Sorry, but I'm soooo relieved and excited that I don't have to start troubleshooting electrical or fuel issues!!

Thanks again guys! Great help!

 

Glad you got it figured out. Have you replaced the ignition switch yet?

 

I started taking out the old one, I just came back from Princess Auto with the deep socket E4, so I'm going to take the old out, and put the new one in. The write up here makes it seem much harder than it actually is. Took me 15 minutes tops until I hit those damn E4 bolts that I didn't have a socket for! lol

So, I'm going to head out now, and fix it hopefully for good (or at least a few years lol).

I can't say it enough, many thanks to all that helped out!

 

Now this is getting aggravating... Put in the new switch, and it doesn't start again. Same as before, turning over, but not firing. I even tried the hotwire trick, and that doesn't even start it... Did I miss something? There was one plug that wasn't plugged into anything, but it didn't cause an issue before when I "hotwired" it... I'm gonna check over everything again, and report back any progress...

 

Can you take a picture of the connector that was not connected...?

 

Swartlkk,

I couldn't get a decent picture of that connector... It's a small black 3 wire connector that has a grey, blue and orange wire going to it. I'm gonna head out now to get a spark and fuel pressure tester, can't get a hold of my buddy to borrow his again.

Voltages check out so far, I have yet to check at the starter or fuel pump, but I do hear it prime when I turn the key to run, and after I try to start it, I hear it run again. I'm starting to wonder if I have spark now...

We'll see how it goes, as always, will post progress...

 

Ok, another update... This is beginning to be a one sided conversation lol

So I went over to Crappy Tire to get a spark tester, fuel pressure tester and some quick start (didn't have anymore). They didn't have the pressure tester in stock and said a store 40 minutes away had one. Nah, I'll pay for it, and you bring it here instead. So I go home, to test for spark. Lot's of spark on every wire, moving along...

I propped open the throttle body, and gave it a quick squirt of quick start. I mean a quick one, a second or less. It fired up with no issues. I let it run for a minute to make sure it wasn't the quick start that was fueling it.

I shut off the engine, wait about a minute and try again. No start...
I give another quick squirt, and she fires up again. I let it run for ~3 minutes, just saw the temp gauge starting to lift from dead cold and shut it off. I waited 20 minutes, tried starting it, and she fired up first crank. I thought maybe the engine was still a little warm, so now I'm waiting for an hour or two to see if she behaves again. This is weird... I never knew quick start was the healing potion of motors! lol

So if it doesn't start again, it will be time for me to pick up the gauge, and I will test the pressure. Either way a good tool to have, so I don't regret spending $50 on it...

As always, I'll let you know what happens...

 

This definitely sounds like a fuel issue. Could be a problem with the poppet nozzles or just low fuel pressure. The heat/vibration of the engine may allow the poppet nozzles to work properly after the quick start fires off the motor initially. Then with the heat increased, they work better.

The only way to really diagnose the poppet nozzle angle is with a Tech 2 (or equivalent) to run an injector balance test. If you have access to a Tech 2 or a scanner that can pulse the injectors one at a time, then you can pull off the upper plenum and reinstall the fuel lines. Remove one injector at a time and direct it into a jar to watch the spray pattern when pulsed.