So after the advice of many on here, I went ahead and changed out the plugs (w/ AC Delco's) & plug wires. Found out that 5 and 8 weren't firing at all which explains a lot of the misfiring and crap running I had going on. After I got it all put back together, turned the key and she fired right up...for about a minute. Then died. And refused to restart.
She's definitely getting fuel, so that's not the problem. I don't think there's any spark when I crank it. She WILL crank. So this leads to my next question - Is it definitely the Distributor Cap? I thought long and hard about just buying it and throwing it on in one shot today, but didn't want to just dump a whole mess of parts in it and wish for the best.
One of the plug wires was worn to s**t when I removed it...I'm wondering if it could have caused an arc in the Cap...
Any other ideas?
I know it's probably something minute that I'm completely missing.
Just to clarify, before I switched out the plugs and wires, she WOULD fire. In the mornings, like clockwork, but after it'd get hot, it'd take a while. Sometimes it'd fire and die in the same second, but after 3 tries at most, it'd catch itself and stay running. I was sure that new plugs and wires would fix the problem. And from when it ran for that minute after the change, it did.
I've seen a few people blame this on VATS...but it fired right after the change...and every time before it. So....
Thanks for al the help

 

The most obvious thing would be the cap and rotor. Those are cheap and need changing as part of routine maintenance anyway. If it were the coil, ign module or pick up module, it wouldn't just affect 2 cylinders, it would affect them all.

 

Vats would cause the starter not even to turn. It will just do NOTHING at all.

Make sure your plug boots are tight on the plugs and on the distributor.

If it only acts crazy when it warms up a little and dies and doesnt fire for a while after that, makes me lean towards an ignition module problem. That will have no effect on it only firing on 5 out of 8 cylinders - that's a different issue. Ignition module sends the spark to every cylinder. It will either have a constant random misfire, or not fire at all if it fails. So if there's a clear and sudden change in how healthy it's runnign, then it's the ign module. Cap and rotor is cheap to upgrade too. As mentioned, the IGN module will generally not work or work. It wont discriminate against particular cylinders.

Ignition modules tend to fair intermittently, especially when they get hot or warm. They're notorious for stranding people. The plus side to a new ign module is that they're cheap, and if it doesn't fix it, you put your old one away until the day your new one fails and then you'll be able to get yourself home.

 

Thanks, I'll change them out tomorrow and see what happens

 

Warm the problems are worse likely cause expanding metal/plastic in the cap is just enough to throw it off from making a good arc across the rotor to the cap post. Could even be a hair line crack that opens up when warm. I bet a shiny nickel a new cap/rotor will cure your ills. No way this is VATS.

 

I'd double check to make sure the coil connection is plugged in tightly. It could have worked loose over time.

 

Then hopefully I'll be fedex-ing you a nickel tomorrow afternoon.

 

I'll make sure to check it tomorrow, thanks

 

Well, a simple ICM fixed everything. What a relief.

 

good news to hear!