Knowledgable truck guys....
 

...my truck doesnt like to start when its cold...its a 2001 chevy silverado 2500....when i turn the key i have to hold my foot on the gas and the brake and rev it alot and keep it at 1000 RPM to keep it alive and also to shift and when i slow down or get under 500 RPM it dies...what could cause this?? it also sometimes doesnt start when its warm every once in awhile but when it does it atleast idles...but in the cold it doesnt even idle....ideas!?

i take its a gasoline model ?.. check engine light on ?

If check engine light is on , have someone read the code on it , sensors will show up here , although often it's a mis communication / reading from one of the sensors which don't always show up as a code in the ecm , in other words more likely then not your fuel/air ratio is getting screwed up , which mean that eitehr a part of the fuel injection system is clogged or the MAF sensor isn't reading accurately making the ECM adjust the injection timing wrong and creating a wrong air/fuel mixture.

Lucas injection cleaner is great , and it's the least expensive of the options , you can also take the maf sensor and clean it , over time the sensor get's dirty and won't read correct.the reason you see it stalling is because at a low RPM the fuel/air ratio is much more critical to keep the engine running , at higher RPMs the flywheel and the rotating masss will keep the engine going even if the ratio is off

well some lights come on when they are not needed....like the low fuel light comes on when i just filled up....low washer fluid light...and yes it is a gasoline model...

there are a million possible reasons a truck can act up.... if you have an auto zone close take it there and have them scan it... that is the best way to tell

that only works if the check engine light is on , or has been on , then there would be a residual code in there..miss readings will not show up in the ECM cause it's not a faulty sensor causing it.

btw you can also unplug the MAF sensor and see if it still does it...thats the sensor/meter thats right behind the airfilter.

Try changing the fuel filter, and the air filter.
Simple fixes but it might make the difference.
Also, like the other poster said some fuel line cleaner
after the other two could help clogged injectors.

Wrong, if the pcm recorded a fault it will be in there. Like I replied in his thread on the off season forum, first off you never step on the gas while starting a fuel injected engine, you may have blown out one or more of the injectors, when was the last time it was tuned up. plugs, wires, filters, coil packs, etc. you really don't give us any info.

I recall reading the story behind "amsoil" ie synthetic motor oil, and it said something to the affect of easier starting/smoothing running in the cold etc..

perhaps running a synthetic or lower weight oil would help ya out on those colder days.

could be alot of things though...

My car was acting weird and it turned out to be a clogged EGR valve.

Of course make sure it is in good shape maintenance wise. Plugs, wires, dist. cap (if it has one), rotor (if it has one), air & fuel filters, PCV valve, etc.

But if I had to give it a straight out guess I would say throttle position sensor. Probobly about 50 bucks.

But I wouldn't do a thing until getting some sort of word from mastevt.