So I took off the throttle body to do some cleaning, and also put a new gasket on as well (Old one crumbled to pieces). Now when I start the car, there's fluid EVERYWHERE and I can't figure out what it is, or where it's coming from. A friend of mine is going to swing by as a second set of eyes so I can find out exactly where it's coming from, but does anyone have any idea what the fluid could be? All the sensors are in the right place and plugged back in (I made sure to label each one, 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, etc...), and I've got the TB snugged onto the Intake Manifold pretty tight

PLEASE HELP, THIS IS A DAILY DRIVER

 

what kind of fluid?

 

Can't be too sure, looks tan in color. I'm just going to assume it's fuel. I found the cause of the leak, at least what I HOPE was the cause. Bottom-right corner of the gasket was leaking, apparently I didn't scrape off enough of the old one, this is due to rushing.

Life lessons: 1
Me: 0

EDIT: I'll post some pictures in about 10 minutes, once the phone has a decent charge

 

That's what I was going to suggest, that you didn't clean the old gasket off well enough. Your TB has internal passages that passes coolant through it. That's what you're leaking due to the bad gasket seal. And if it's tan in color, your cooling system could use a good flushing. Time for some new anti freeze.

 

You throttle body is leaking, that would be dirty dexcool. There is a coolant passage at the body of the tb, you have it to tight or not on right, torque spec is 89in pounds for the tb bolts.

 

Yep, here was the old remnants of the gasket:



And here was the obvious hint after I took off the TB:



Now that the TB is no longer leaking, I apparently got the coolant in the intake manifold, and therefore, the engine. I smell the coolant being burned off, and the white smoke from the exhaust is pouring out, but what should I do now? Should I just assume that it's leftover and just the rest burn off, or is there something else I should check? Please remember that over-technical terms are lost on me, and I'm still learning as I go

 

Seems like it's just leftover coolant from the leak, but is it safe to run the car for a few minutes to let it burn off, or would that cause more permanent damage? I need to know because this is a daily driver, and I don't have the money available to fix any engine damage. Also, timing couldn't be worse, because I have a job interview on Monday morning

 

Change your oil and filter immediately. Dont drive or start the car again until its changed.

 

You may have to drive it a few miles to get it all burned out, had to do thar after my cam install.

 

Apparently, not only were you leaking coolant externally, you were sucking it into the TB and burning it. None would have gotten into the oil, since we're not talking about an intake manifold gasket.
A little "water injection" will not hurt an engine. No damage done.