98 5.4, crank no start. need help

[Fairmont302]

1998 expy, 5.4. 4x4 150k miles.
the truck has been sitting for 4 months i believe. i went to start is and it ran for just about a min. then just puttered and died.
i check fuel pressure, 41psi koeo, held 41psi koec for a few seconds then came down to 38psi.... that still should have starting capacity.
pulled a coil and put a plug in it, it has spark.
led noid on the injector, its pulsing.
starts with starting fluid (knocks bad on it, )
so here i am, scatching my head... truck message center says 158 miles to empty, gauge shows maybe half tank. did someone steal my fuel and replace it with water? did i get super bad fuel and it went oober bad over winter? when i started the truck is seemed to run long enough to empty the fuel lines and filter?
please help

 

[Fairmont302]

snagged the fuel injector cleaner from work. filled it with some fresh fuel and plumbed it onto the truck...she started. so i drained out the tank and it looked very murky. then i went to the front and purged the lines, alot of milky colored junk came out then at last clean fuel. after all this the truck came back to life. she has an off idle studder ( believe i should reallly change the filter).
so the plan for tomorrow is to change the fuel filter and get some fuel dry stuff and add some more fuel and just let her run. hope she smooths out.

 

[paul_smith_347]

Any gas with Ethanol in it has a shelf life of about a month or so without some sort of stabilizer in it. Its like the old saying," They don't make it like they used to." I have had similar problems with my older truck when she sits for awhile. Fresh fuel has always been the cure. If it will be sitting for long periods of time in the future, treat the gas with some Stabil. Its not to expensive and preserves the gas. Hope this helps.

 

[1997SCEBFEX]

+1 on stabilizer.

 

[Stoned06]

Agreed that Stabil or another stabilizer is a necessity with Ethanol fuels. Ethanol attracts water horribly and can reek havoc on the fuel system. If storing a vehicle running with ethanol fuel, it's best to keep a full tank so there is less area for water to condensate on the tank and top of the fuel. But still need the stabilizer.
In our boat, I add it throughout the year as it can sit for a month even in the summer. There is also a product called Startron that is an enzymatic cleaner that keeps the fuel system clean, and helps with the ethanol problem as well. In combination, we have never had issues with bad fuel at initial startup in the summer after nearly 7 months of storage.