This doesnt have the signs of an electrical problem -- like a short somewhere does it??

If a short to earth could cause a lean condition then yes, but I don't
think so, but have you checked the wires for rubbing through ?

I haven't checked any of the wires.... I checked the volts from ECM to Map sensor connector and it was 5V and middle wire had 3.8V... one of the wires didn't have any volts.

I did take the dash out and put in instrutment panel bulbs that were missing. I also installed a Tach....for the short term i just connected with twist caps and wrapped in electrical tape -- I now have the heat shrink insulation and solder if i need to redo it.  I tied my tach backlight into the headlights (I need to tie it into the dimmer), and ran my power to the battery... I couldn't find a power wire. (I found 3 or 4 wires that had power but when I connected my Tach to them the tach would barely move or didn't move it all... so I just went with the battery b\c it worked.)

Surely that doesn't have anything to do with it?

and I don't remember if it ran like this before the tach install or not... it's all running together -- I need to start writing details down with dates.

So you did check the MAP volts, was the MAP test you posted Ohms
or Voltages? The 5 volts you have going to the MAP is the normal 5V
reference signal, but the returning volts to the ECM should fluctuate
with the MAP vacuum signal, have you checked it this way?

I don't know about your other wiring, could be a problem because of the
Japanese way of wiring stuff, most connections will be hot, and a grounding
switch will activate that circuit.

When I added the MegaSquirt I needed a tach signal, and my first attempt
the truck would not start, so I picked another, don't remember what but that
was fine, so you may want to undo your electrical changes before digging too
deep just to find out that was it

What did you use to get a tach signal? you need a ground from the coil usually
along with power and your back light, could be you are causing a problem with
the ECM and the tachometer cutting impulses that the ECM, uses to deliver pulses to
the injector, just a thought

I tied into the brown negative wire on my coil. The factory had a splice about 4" from the coil so I just unwrapped their blue electrical tape, wrapped my tach  around the open wire, then taped it back...works great! I'll undo it and see if there r any changes.

That is where I tied mine in, should be ok

My fuel injector sprays a nice even umbrella pattern.  The spray stays the same intensity whether the  MAP is plugged in or not...... that may not be normal ?  The "backfire" can clearly  be seen with the air intake removed -- a fire bomb comes up from the throttle body and hits the fuel injector.... if that is a sign of anything --

I looked at my CEL light to see if it wanted to talk to me today -- and of course it didnt...but i noticed my fuel guage is on a 1/2 a tank... I filled it full 2 weeks ago and it's been sitting since -- we idle it and rev it up to tinker and troubleshoot but that's it...  that's crazy that it's burning that much fuel!

I noticed my EGR valve never moves -- according to the book when the engine is cold it should not move -- but once the engine warms and you increase the RPM it should move back and forth or at least move....  I hosed it down with brake cleaner yesterday and removed a lot of the carbon build up so there isn't much there....  
The book said if it doesn't move back and forth then apply vaccuum pressure to see if it moves -- if not replace it -- if it does then leave it be.... but if it doesn't move on its own then how can it be good -- oh well -- book knows more than me. I'll test that tonight.

Will a bad EGR cause issues like mine... I googled EGR symptoms but none were specific enough as "runs great when unplugged from MAP -- backfires, sputters, dies (sometimes) when plugged into MAP. I think my charcoal canister is from the 1800s too....

I'll check fuel pressure after work --

I've seen the EGR do some weird things, including make the engine miss and drop a cylinder once the vehicle warms up.

When you squeeze the EGR valve and force it to open does the car die?

Yea I can apply vacuum to the egr at idle and engine will die

Will the Samurai 1.3L ECM work on the 1.6L/8v?  Or to be done the right way should the 1.6L/8v have the tracker ECM?

Fuel pressure at idle is 31psi

That's a bit low, can you test it under a load? find a hill and do an extended
drive up it or just a little full throttle acceleration, and note the pressure.

Being it's 31 at idle I bet it goes way low under load.

You can check to see if it's the regulator or the fuel pump/filter by pinching
off the return line, it's the little green toned small can thing on the front side
of the TBI, similar to the location of the steel line in on the back side of the
TBI. There is a small vacuum line on the right side and a bigger return on the
left side, pinch it off and check the pressure, doing that might even clear up
to low pressure issue if the regulator is sticking, the OEM fuel pump should
hit about 80 PSI if I remember right

Wild

I'm way off from 80! When I reved it with the throttle lever I saw it get to 45- 50 -- but not sure how high I reved it.  The book said to just test at idle and if it falls between 24 -30 then it's good.... so i unhooked it and put in my barb -- i can redo the test under a load tomorrow.

Tonight we did a cylinder leak test and there was air coming back up thru the head -- We ensured the valves were closed by unscrewing the valve springs a bit to where they were loose and rockers rocked... I read where 8-15psi of leakage is ok so that tells me that it's normal to have some air come back up thru the head or somewhere ??--  our leak test device didn't have the dial guages so really not sure how much air was coming back up thru the head.

I doublt the issues are related...then again i don't really know much -- but it runs sweet when unplugged from MAP...so i think it's OK engine wise...

Your fuel pressure shouldn't fluctuate that much, should stay fairly steady, and
the 80 is with the returned blocked or pinched off, not normal running, you just
want to test the pump and the regulator

i'll have to wait a few days before I can get another fuel pressure reading.  My head is semi torn down... i dont even know what to call it -- but the rocker nuts are lose and need to be set back to specs. And we took the timing belt off... 

My helper was chasing a burnt valve theory...but now he's thinking it's air or electrical.  We're going to do a smoke test on Friday to see if there's any leaks causing the issue....then we're going to electrical issues including the fuel pressure like you mentioned. 

Soon enough we'll have it all covered and will end up doing an engine swap, ECM swap, wiring harness swap... I guess eventually the problem will be tracked down?!?!?

Will the Samurai 1.3L ECM work on the 1.6L/8v?  Or to be done the right way should the 1.6L/8v have the tracker ECM?

To do it "right", the intake, the wiring and the ECM must all match the engine.  Some people run the 1.3 ECM, wiring and intake on the 1.6.  Sometimes it works ok, sometimes it doesn't.
You can not run a trackick ECM with a 1.3 wiring harness.  Even though the plugs will plug into the trackick ECM, they are pinned out differently and they don't use all the same wires.