Went to start the car yesterday to test the transmission to see if I had 2nd or 3rd gears (I tried Drive and Reverse when I bought it, only reverse worked) - battery was dead.
The dead battery is an AC Delco 6 year battery, but according to the serial number it's from 2003... so, basically - way overdue for replacement.
I'm gonna pick a new one up today. While I was down there though, I pulled out the thermistor on the positive terminal and ohmed it out. It's reading at
181-183 ohms at room temp. When I applied my thumb (warm) to the surface, it gradually decreased the resistance to 175 and then when I removed my thumb, gradually returned back to 181-183 ohms. Is this in the proper range? It seems like it is functioning properly to me. All the wiring looks fantastic and no corrosion down there.
I can only attribute the weird issues to the dying (now-dead) battery. Will pick up a new one after work and see if my trans starts working. Perhaps it was in limp mode due to low voltage or something.
I guess if it doesn't work with the new battery, I'll unplug the BATT THERM fuse from underneath the seat and see if limp mode goes away.
Here's hoping.