So I recently received a 90 ford ranger for free, it's been sitting for 4+ yrs, so I was told... I quickly got to work trying to figure out what was wrong with it... I replaced battery, replaced plugs and wires, checked fuses and relays everything seemed fine, checked fuel pressure, and nothing... I replaced fuel pump and I still wasn't getting power. Found the fuel shut of switch was bad, replaced it, I emptied tank fully and placed with new fuel. And it started spitting and sputtering, died a few times but would start up and run... eventually found out I had a bad idle control valve and it ran just fine after that... well I drove it down the road about a mile and it ran like crap lol. Chugging not wanting to stay running.. had to floor it a few times but it wouldn't take off right away had it floor for a good 5-10 seconds before it would take off. I finally said screw it and took it to a known mechanic in the area and apparently he could figure it out either. Fuel pressure was at 30, he checked spark, he checked out the fuel pump and said I did it right. Checked the computer, and a few other small things. I say he didn't put much work into it. But I took it back after 3 months of nothing. Now it won't start at all... sooo... now I'm here... any bright ideas on where to start?

 

Welcome to the forum

At 30 years old I would pull out the computer and have a look at its circuit board
There are 3 capacitors than will leak and cause the issues you describe, and it free to have a look and a $5 fix if caps are leaking

Picture here of the computer with the 3 BLUE capacitors easily seen: Ford EEC-IV
And look for corrosion, sitting for 4+ years means computer never heated up to burn off moisture, so........................corrosion starts

Other thing is "do you HEAR" the new fuel pump when you turn the key on?
It should run for 2 seconds EACH TIME you turn the key from OFF to ON
3rd party fuel pumps are known to fail within the first year, so are under warranty, but just a pain to swap them out, you sometimes have to go thru 2 or 3 of them to get one that lasts out the first year

There is no "computer test"...................you need to visually inspect it, and if the 3 caps are replaced, you do that regardless, and there are still odd running issues then you get a rebuilt computer on speculation, because there is NO computer test, not even Ford mechanics can test a Ford Computer, just FYI

 

the mechanic did swap out the computer with a new, but still nothing new, and yes sir I do hear the fuel pump engaging. I've been reading threads And found out about about 50/50 test. I'm going to be giving that a shot.