Idle surge and lack of power..

[TeclipseFTW]

idle surges between 1000-1500 RPMS. lack of power when engine is cold... turbo will spool up but the engine will not follow with it... its almost like the engine isnt getting fuel... how do i know if my Throttle position sensor is bad? or does it sound like something else? help!!
thanks

 

[misphit]

Idle surge is a battle that you're going to have to fight separately from your boosting issue. They are *probably* not connected issues, though anything is possible. Backprobing the TPS will tell you whether or not it's within spec. You can find this procedure on these forums somewhere.

If your car is seeing boost and the power is not being translated to the wheels, I would think you have a really bad boost leak(s) or something misfiring in the ignition system (<-- which is what I'd check first). To do a very basic test, watch under the hood at night in the dark and see if you can see anything sparking around the coilpack or plug wires while you rev it up by hand.