There are are 2 temperature sensors on the TBI engines. The one on the side of the motor in for the temperature gauge only. There is one on top on the intake manifold in the front. That is the one that the ECM looks at to give the engine more fuel at idle when cold. When this sensor goes bad it make it hard to start when cold unless you give it a little throttle thus more fuel. After you drive a little and warm the engine up it should idle OK. They are cheap and very easy to replace.

Yep, think I paid $17 for mine

Does the temp sensor on the intake manifold just sense air temp then?

Thanks Nemo

It senses coolant temperature in the engine.

bad fuel

Ok, thanks! Does a guy need to drain the coolant system to replace this sensor? I need to drain the coolant one of these days anyway to put a new block heater in.

No need to drain it. You will lose a little but not much.

If your going for a new battery you might as well take the alternator and have it tested.

You said it wasn't charging (alternator) won't continue to run with weak battery (alternator)

I'm closer to the battery shop than I am home, and only have the battery with me. Might have to look at the alternator another day.

if you get it started, you can use a multi meter on DC current. touch your leads to positive and negative on the battery while motor is running. you should have around 14.4 volts if alternator is good

EGR valve maybe

Fuel filter on my old and greatest truck ever (350 stick with granny gear) was under the drivers door in an indent into the frame......jk

Those 80s gms would crank slow when it was cold and flood out. Then the plugs would be fouled out with fuel. We used to tow all kinds of them in cold weather. Battery, spark plugs and oil change and away they'd go.

What did they say?
If you bought a new one and it still persists your 2 other best options are the alt or distributor cap and rotor. The cap and rotor are usually 2 bolts. Get a hair dryer aim it at the cap (either bolted on or not) to dry it out. Once it is dried fire it up. To find the cap just follow your spark plugs to where the all come together.

The fuel filter is tricky it seeps enough gas to start but if plugged it won’t flow enough fuel to run it very long. Test the battery and the draw on the starter to crank it.

Put the new battery in last night, and she fired right up, no hesitation at all! Let it run for a good 10-15 minutes then shut 'er off. Went to start it up this morning to warm up and melt some ice off before heading into work, and she hesitated just a little bit. Gave it a little bit of gas and she fired up and stayed running. Made it to work fine. I'll probably to out on my lunch to start it to see what it does. When I get off work, I'll pick up a set of spark plugs and a new fuel filter for good measure. Might get around to testing the alternator tonight too. The voltage gauge on the dash reads a solid 13-15V when it's running.

Started it up at noon, and it started and idled just fine. Thinking maybe I've got the issue fixed. Time will tell I suppose. Still will look into the other maintenance items mentioned earlier though. Thanks for the education everyone!

Yes that truck will have a fuel filter, will be on the frame rail on the drivers side

Those engines beed very little to start. As long as the battery and starter are good, they need proper fuel pressure which isnt much I think they run in the 8-10 psi range but its been a while since I worked on that age truck. And they need a properly functioning coolant temp sensor and MAP sensor.