Air Flow Plate "Safety Switch"????

[350SL4spd]

I am looking at a 1978 280SE, but I think the set-up is the same on the larger motors of the era. What I am looking at is the fuel distributor/air flow plate. There is a sensor between them, on the block side, that my manuals describe as "Safety Switch, air flow plate". I would like to know its function and any other info anyone has on it.
I am trying to figure out if it has anything to do with a stalling prob I am having (car runs great then will stall out , and will only restart if you pump the air flow plate down 2or3 times, then will purr again for a while ). If I can't blame the sensor, then I guess it's a sticky piston in the fuel distributor.

Thanks for any info!!

-M-

[Gilly]

If the air flow plate gets fully deflected open, this switch closes (or is it opened?) and in effect shuts off the fuel pump.

Gilly

[350SL4spd]

Could it theoretically be malfunctioning to the point that it would start to very starve off fuel (or intermittently shut off the fuel pump like it's making it cycle on and off) after reving the engine (plate goes down some) and then be reset somehow by pressing the plate all the way down into the switch again? Car restarts fine after plate is depressed all the way down with engine off after a stall, just repaeats the whole process every few minutes...

Thanks!

-M-

[Gilly]

I'd try to monitor voltage going to the pump when this is happening. Not amperage so much as just seeing if the pump is being provided with power.

Gilly