Might not be the problem, but I had the same problem on my 89 22re when I had it. The engine would rev to about 3K and then all of a sudden die down to where it would catch again at around 800...then do everything again. Turned out I had mistakenly put one of the vacuum lines on wrong. Mine was in the back and it connected to the brass colored part near the fire wall (sorry, I completely forgot what the part is called). Start it and then go back to the firewall (it is the part that comes off of the intake and looks like an exhaust part) and begin to unplug vacuum lines. If I unplugged mine it all of a sudden ran perfectly fine. Sorry for being so vague, I just can't remember what that part is called.
