picked up a 94 4.9 auto 3 days ago. got a great deal, now im trying to prep the truck for winter. im having a start up issue. it usually takes multiple cranks to start and i have to press the gas pedal and prime it to start it up. it will idle pretty high for a few seconds after, and then it idles normal. seems to want to start everytime but id rather not get stranded somewhere. so far it has new fuel lines, starter solenoid, battery, fuel pump, inertia switch tested, tank selector has been tested, new distributor, spark plug wires, plugs, and a new icm. any other ideas what to look at? im not very knowledgeable of the i6 yet, so im a little lost. this picture attached has a part that the seller said may need replaced sometime in the future, but i cant remember what he called it, unsure if it's related? on the right side of engine. it drives fine, gets typical fuel mileage, and no noticeable power loss. it actually seems to drive faster than my old 5.0. no other symptoms im aware of other than just a hard time starting up. i also noticed my radiator fans are always on even when the engine is stone cold, is that normal? i saw something about a temp sending unit, maybe that's related to the fan always being on?

 

First thing I'd check is fuel pressure. Can you hear it prime when you turn the key on? And that truck has efi, so hitting the throttle with the motor of isnt actually going to affect anything. I had a similar problem that ended up being the fuel pressure regulator, so you can check that out.
It could also be an issue of just slightly not enough power going to the starter. Id check all of the electrical connections for the battery.
And as for the fan, unless you have an aftermarket electric fan, the fan should have a thermostatic clutch, so if it is constantly spinning, even when it is completely cold, that could be a bad clutch.
And it is perfectly normal for it to idle a little high right after startup. Both of my trucks, and my bronco run at about 2k rpms for a little bit on a cold start.

 

i can hear the pump when the key is in the on position. as for the fan, i believe i have a bad fan clutch as it's always on and is not electric. could that possibly be causing the cpu to give an incorrect air/fuel mixture? was planning on checking connections today but bad weather hit, i do believe the battery itself has good connection, ill have to check the starter connection tomorrow. the starter itself seems to crank very strong though. i likely will just replace the pressure regulator and see what happens because the part is cheap and i wont have any issue getting it done myself. i was also suggested to check injectors for leaks, but wouldnt that cause a fuel smell and possible misfire? i dont smell any fuel nor is it misfiring. not too long before the snow hits here so hopefully its sorted out soon.

edit - I have noticed it starts much better if i turn the key to the on position 3-4 times, letting the pump prime itself. still not perfect but it makes a big difference.

 

Another thing you should do is replace the fuel filter. When I first picked up my '90 f150, it would crank for a little while before wanting to start, and it sometimes would stall out right after startup. Replacing the fuel filter fixed all of it. And now I replace the fuel filter as one of the first things I do on every vehicle I buy.
And yeah, usually if the injectors are leaking you would smell it, and it would cause a bit of a misfire.

 

Your fuel pressure spec is 30-45 psi . Since you are saying that cycling the key on and off to improve your hard starting issue tells me you might have a weak fuel pump.