Yeah, the TE drinks gas (19 mpg in town, 22 highway, usually).

Check for vac leaks. If you have throttle lag on takeoff (push the pedal down and wait.....then it zooms), the idle control valve hoses are shot and leaking, big vac leak so you have mixture control problems.

It starts in second unless you floor it, so that may be part of the problem (or at least the perception of a problem).

Check the idle mixture too -- of way off, you will get cruddy perfomance off idle until it stabilizes.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!