Van want idle

By "dead" do you mean the engine stops running or all of the electrical stuff goes off?

If the engine stalls when you come to a stop but it will restart right away, and if it will stay running if you hold the gas pedal down 1/4 inch, the battery was probably recently disconnected or run dead. That will cause the Engine Computer to lose its memory. It won't know when to be in control of idle speed until "minimum throttle" is relearned. To meet the conditions for that to occur, drive at highway speed with the engine warmed up, then coast for at least seven seconds without touching the brake or gas pedals.

Caradiodoc