Can a bad coolant temp sensor prevent my 420a from starting?

[AdamBaughman]

So i just bought my first car a few months ago and absolutely love it. 1998 mitsubishi eclipse gs. Bone stock runs great. But recently ive had some trouble. One day i was driving and i noticed my rpms would sit at 2000 in neutral while rolling. After coming to a complete stop they drop to 1100. Usually it idles at 900 rpms. So after shutting the car off and trying to restart it all i get is turning over and no firing. I checked the purge valve on my fuel rail and also listened for the prime of the fuel pump. Both indicating that my fuel pump is fine. I also checked for spark which i also have. I couldnt figure oit what the problem was so i left. It was roughly 70 to 80 degrees that day.. Next day i went back to see if it would start in the cool morning. It did but at first start it idoled extremely rough bouncing between 900 to 1300 rpms and a heavy smell of gas was there, i figured i flooded it the day befor by trying to start it over and over.. After melowing out back to1100 i drove it home and it was still pulling the same bs of holding rpms in neutral. I shut it off and immediately tried to restart it. Nothing. No firing at all just turning over. After pondering and constant reserch the only thing i found was that my cts was bad. Keep in mind my obd doesnt work. Can a coolant temp sensor cause a car not to start in heat? There is no black smoke or overheating issues. Any thoughts?

 

[PickleRick]

Yes, it will crank but not turn over.

The ECU relies on this sensor to determine how much fuel to send to the injectors upon the initial start up.