I have been having a problem with my car for the first few minutes after startup. The car starts right up, but idles a little higher than normal. when I try to drive it, it is as if the car has no power. As I go into gear the rpm drop (almost as if I tried to drive off in 4th gear or so). if i go for broke and rev it way up and then dump, the rpm drop way way down again and then the car is rolling and still running, but its acting like it wants to die but is only on because its rolling in gear. If i give it a moment or rev it way up for a few seconds the idle goes back to normal and it starts driving normally again.
what is wrong with my car?

 

i should also mention that I smell gas some times. almost as if the car is very rich.

could this be a slow leak in a fuel line, draining the lines? i dont know if this makes sense though... becauseif the car starts right away and runs the fuel pressure should be fine....

 

Your car is a '98 right? Which means it still has an EGR valve, make sure your EGR valve isn't leaking, it can cause problems like that.

 

I removed and capped the EGR over the summer. I will check the plugs and plates for the AIR and EGR but i dont think that is the problem. Thanks for the input though.

 

does it shake at all ? cause mine is doing that when i have it in park(i know yours is manual) but i was told to run some fuel cleaner cause maybe the injectors could be dirty

 

shake? not much.... at idle it will do that pulsing shake thing where it barely shudders about once a second. i just take that to mean its an old sports car. However it probably is time for me to clean the fuel system. but I dont know why that would cause it to cut out at first. it idles just fine, it just acts like it doesnt have the ***** to make the car actually move, like trying to move the car using a 20hp motor, it just ties to die. then works again after a minute and runs hard as hell.

 

how about your plugs and wires. if their in bad enough shape that could cause problems like that.

 

plugs are all new TR-6's with the nitrous. the ls1 is CoP so I doubt its the wires.

 

Check the fuel delivery system, injectors and filter.......

 

the filter is new, how should I go about checking the injectors? is there a injector maintenance article somewhere around here?