87 off timing?

[superspud87]

my 87 wagon is idling and acting funny. if i am sitting and idling, my idle stays at a decent level, but after about 20 secs or so, it drops very far, almost to the point of it stalling, but than it fixes itself and repeats the process. also, when im driving, when i shift up and its at low rpms (5 spd manual) it shudders violently, almost like fuel suddenly stops entering the engine for just a split second and than fixes itself. this happens very sporadically, unlike when i am just idling.

my family gearhead thinks that im a tooth off on my timing chain, but i either think that i have a clogged injector or something gunky in my throttle body, or i have a vacuum leak, and i have no idea where it would be.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I would suspect a faulty TPS (throttle position sensor) or a dirty throttle body.

 

[superspud87]

that makes sense as well, i took apart my throttle body and cleaned it off a few weeks ago, but i dont think i took of the TPS, where is it located? in front of the air tube or behind?

 

[superspud87]

well i haven't had a chance to check out my throttle body yet, but tonight on the drive home i made an interesting discovery. my jeep acts up A LOT more when its warmed up. approx the 3rd line up on the temperature gauge (right between where it says 100 and 210 Degrees).

im even more puzzled by this fact because the engine is warmed up.

could this still be the TPS?