Fuel sensor

Will the engine stay running if you hold the accelerator pedal down 1/4"? Was the battery recently disconnected?

The Engine Computer needs to relearn "minimum throttle" before it will know when it needs to be in control of idle speed. To meet the conditions for the relearn to take place, drive at highway speed with the engine warmed up, then coast for at least seven seconds without touching the pedals.

Use two feet, one on the accelerator and the left one to work the brakes. This is a very common procedure that mechanics do all the time for their customers. They take a short test-drive after they had to disconnect the battery, or they explain the need to do so to the customer.

You might check for a vacuum leak, but those codes will not cause a failure of the engine to run. Those codes commonly set when there are no symptoms or noticeable running problems. Often the only way to know they are set is if the Check Engine light turns on.

I have never heard of anyone needing to replace those parts. I am not sure why they are even part of this conversation. GM used to have a huge problem with their fuel pressure regulators leaking fuel into its vacuum hose. Chrysler never had that problem. In fact, since working at a very nice family-owned Chrysler dealership since 1990, I have only read about one regulator failure. They were moved from the fuel rail on the engine to the gas tank because we never need to look at them. If you suspect a problem, put a fuel pressure gauge on the fuel rail and see what you have for pressure. If there is a problem with a sensor, that will be detected and a diagnostic fault code will be set.

Go out and drive it.

Are you holding the accelerator pedal down a little?

I have a 1993 Dodge Dynasty with 4,500 miles. I put a battery in it and drive it once every year or two. My daily driver is a 1994 Grand Voyager. I carry a spare battery because I regularly run the main one down from running an inverter to run this laptop computer. I have three other Grand Caravans that get run very little, and I have to throw a battery in them when I do. Every one of those will not stay running when put in gear unless I hold the accelerator pedal down about 1/4". This is a very common concern and you're seriously over-thinking it.

The only exception to this is if there is a bad electrical connection or a wire rubbed through and grounding out when the engine rocks. That would be very rare, but not unheard of. Usually you can make it act up by tugging on various wiring harnesses while the engine is running. A clue to this is the stalling will not occur when you shift into reverse. That makes the engine rock the other way. That would not tug on a connector, but a rubbed-through wire in a harness that is sliding on the body might still act up.

Freezing my fingertips off! I will be back tomorrow to see how you are doing.