thanks for the suggestions, guys... I've been toying with it...
can't find any vacuum leaks, but there are 2 nuts missing from the intake array (others are tight). I cranked up the idle speed to see if it might keep idleing at a higher rpm, but it just bounced back and forth between a high idle and almost stalling...
also, the PO installed a new fuel pump, but it hasn't run since that was done, so maybe that's an issue, too?