I went out to start it after returning from shopping & it cranked but no start. I left it where it was & came back the next day with tools, got in & it started.
This is consistent with a few old EEV IV pattern failures:
1 • PIP Sensor (aka pickup coil or crank position sensor in distributor)
2 • EEC Power Relay
3 • Fuel Pump
Check Engine light (MIL) is big clue for 1 and 2
Check following when it won't start:
1 • MIL on with key on, then goes off after a few seconds, then comes on solid while cranking is a sure sign of PIP failure. This won't always set a code, and in fact rarely does, but you can test it by disconnecting the SPOUT connector (timing) and cranking it again. If the light stays off cranking, if it starts up, or even if it tries to start better than before, then it's your PIP sensor
2 • If no MIL when you turn the key on, it is probably your EEC Power Relay. Learn where it lives (probably near your diagnostic connector by the left inner fender), turn your key on and whack it with your pocket knife handle. If that wakes it up, you'll hear some clicking and buzzes and your engine should start again.
On the fuel pump, it's not quite as common, but sometimes when they begin to fail, one of the commutators will short out. If the fuel pump happens to stop spinning right on that particular commentator, it will not spin up when energized. I doubt that's your case though, because then it would start and die once or twice before you get a complete cranking no-start, but it is worth a shot if the first two don't apply. Listen for your pump to prime when you turn your key on. If you're not hearing that, then you'll want to listen for the fuel pump relay to click. It is right up there next to that EEC Power Relay. When you turn the key on, the power relay will click once, and the fuel pump relay will click twice, on then off one second later. If you're hearing those clicks, and you're not hearing your fuel pump prime, have somebody crank the engine while you kick the bottom of the fuel tank right where the pump lives. If that fires it up, then you've got a worn pump.
