Before you start chasing your tail, I would first fix the purge solenoid problem and see what happens. Gas fumes from the tank collect in the charcoal canister. When you start the engine, the solenoid momentarily opens up and the fumes from the canister gets sucked out and burned. If that solenoid is stuck open, or is leaking, it could cause engine runnability issues. You could try disconnecting the line from the purge solenoid to the engine and see if that changes anything for the better.

 

It turns out that since i bought this car used...i never really checked anythingg pertaining to intake..(also i replaced my purge canister solenoid today, and ill have to get the ECU reset when i get a diagnostic run tomorrow) furthermore i removed the MAF to clean it out, in some spare time i had yesterday..and found out that my intake elbow to the throttlebody had been electrical taped to the throttlebody and covered with the metal clamp, because it was torn to shreds, literally. i ordered a new aftermarket one today and after i replaced it momentarily with a spare one a good friend of mine had, it nearly elimanated my idle issues altogether. (go figure vacuum leak..im pretty pissed that i got played for a fool in this aspect...but i had no reason to take the intake apart prior to this)

now my only remaining gripe, is that past 4k RPM my car literally violently misfires..granted i never drive it that hard anyway ( i shift @ 2500-3k RPMS) its pissing me off. My only solution is to finally replace my spark plugs and plug wires/boots or i think that possibly from having such a horrible vacuum leak that my camaro has sucked up so much ****, that my Catalytic converter is clogged to hell and the engine is having trouble getting the exhaust from the block past the cat when its under load.

I have a magnaflow Cat-Back exhaust.

any pointers before i go after my spark plugs, or past that would be beyond appreciated. Im very careful when maintaining any vehicle, and camaros have been part of my family since i was a child.
(my uncle has a 67 camaro SS w/a 350 smallblock street legal running 11.4s 1/4 passes)
my cousin has a 93, my grandpa has a 69 w/a 502 ect ect.

i want to fix this [B]right[/B the previous owner has put me in a bad place, but as i said i intend to do this correctly.

thank you for your help again

-LCpl Lego

 

sounds to me like you might be ready to change your opti-spark

 

So it has nothing to do with my Catalytic Converter?? And what in the hell is an opti spark

ive never heard ofthat

EDIT- Oh distributor..duh. Didn't put the two together. Anyone have a link for a not-so-super-expensive Optispark that is durable/reliable.
this is the only one i could find.. http://all-ignition.com/95-lt1.html any good?

 

You mentioned that the gauges went crazy just before the engine died. This is usually an indication of low voltage. You may wan to check all the battery connections, alternator connections, and grounds.

 

So it has nothing to do with my Catalytic Converter?? And what in the hell is an opti spark

ive never heard ofthat

EDIT- Oh distributor..duh. Didn't put the two together. Anyone have a link for a not-so-super-expensive Optispark that is durable/reliable.
this is the only one i could find.. http://all-ignition.com/95-lt1.html any good?

anyone know if this is the real problem?