Dear JB,
    My truck is a 1987 Chevrolet.  It has around  215,000 miles on it.  It has always given me great service, but lately it  has been giving me fits, instead.  Here's what happens.  It will start  just fine, but when I put it in Drive or Reverse it slowly begins to stall  (within 15 seconds of shifting

into a gear).  Someone suggested the transmission may be giving me problems.  What do you think about it?
signed,
Desperado with a Silverado

Dear Desi,
    I don't think it is the transmission.  I  suppose that the torque converter could shut the engine down if its clutch plate  was somehow being applied, but normally this makes the vehicle lurch and  stall immediately when putting it in gear.  My advice is to replace the  distributor.  GM trucks use a permanent magnet as a pole piece made  onto the distributor shaft.  As the truck ages tiny cracks appear in this  magnet and eventually grow large enough to allow the magnet to

to either unplug the two fuel injector  connectors or the ignition coil.  How is this possible?
signed,
Bill

Dear Bill,
    First, how come you didn't sign-off with a clever  name?  Well, be that as it may, I think I have an answer for you.  Under normal conditions, the key has to be on in order to power the computer,  the coil and the fuel pump.  This power is supplied by a common fuse which,  itself, is powered through the ignition switch.  Unplugging the switch  definitely interrupts the circuit, so the question remains: where is the circuit  getting the power?  I think the answer lies in the computer