starting/accelerating problems

'99 Acura Integra GSR 98,000miles. The problem started with what i thought was just bad spark plugs. The car would occasionally misfire when i gave it gas. I changed the spark plugs and the misfiring increased and the car became almost impossible to start. I pulled the plugs and checked the gaps again and the plugs where dark and saturated with fuel. I also noticed while trying to start it again several minutes later that you can smell strong gas almost immediatley after trying to start it. it seems to idle fine when it does start, but as soon as you tap the gas it either stalls are comes close to it. It has good spark also.

Is the check engine light on? A mixture problem that severe should have a code in it.O2 sensors, coolant sensor, blown fuel reg. There alot of possibles.

no, its not throwing any codes which I thought was pretty odd. I also store this car during the winter months which I don't believe to be a factor given the car ran perfectly for months. A family member suggested that it might be the fuel pressure regulator also. How would you go about determining this? Thanks.

Perform a fuel pressure test.

find where your fuel regulator is either built in mechanical pump or between fuel pump and the fuel disributor for electrical pump..

check your injectors too;

you have a rich mixture.

The regulator is on the fuel rail. It will be a vacuum pot with a line going to the intake for vacuum reference. If there isnt one then its a returnless system and the ECM is doing it through pulse width for some reason.

Ok, I just replaced the fuel pressure regulator hoping that was the problem. The car fired right up and idled perfectly. I let it warm up and tried revving the engine but still had the same problem...If i slighlty apply pressure to the gas pedal it revs up fine, but if I apply normal pressure up to punching it between idle and 2500 rpm, it bogs out until i release the gas pedal. Anywhere above 2500 rpm seems to run fine. I shut the car off, pulled the plugs and disconnected the battery. The plugs were ok and it's still getting really good spark. I tried starting it again and it wouldn't even start, just keeps turning over with a almost here and there. A friend suggested an air flow sensor.? What do you guys think? Thanks!

Just a thought, but plugs wires come to mind. Especially when you said it ran worse after the new plugs were put in. Tugging and pulling on those wires breaks down the composite conductivity of the wires. The hesitation is also a symptom.

Sounds like you may need to rebuild the distributor, maybe replace the coil and check the wires. Sometimes they get burnt up over time. If you find a replacement for the wires inside the distributor, d15 (from the civic) ones will work too. Worked on my racecar.