Doc, i think i may have sorted the problem, but until tomorrow morning when the car is stone cold, i wont know for sure.

first thing of note is that no matter what i disconnect (pressure regulator, pot, AAV), the idle never changes, nor does the driveability of the car.... i know the AAV actually works (tested manually), but the injection system doesn't cause it to... nor does the cold start valve work. i swapped the over voltage relay from another car - no difference....

however, i played with the throttle pot and found was going open loop near the top of the flap's travel... i thought perhaps i'd adjust the pot until it passes the damaged section.... and the car seemed to behave normally from here on in.... disconnecting the plug would recreate the symptoms... but like i said, i won't know for sure until tomorrow.