Hi Mike, i appreciate your quick response. First off , i had already replaced everything above while trying to TS the engine shut off problem but I do know too well the adage dont fix if it aint broke. unfortunately, i am not really experienced so i just read forums and tried things in hopes it would work.
I inherited this truck from my father who passed and had issues with it and left it parked inside the garage. I took out gas tank and had it cleaned, radiator and had it cored, heads and had them resurfaced (it already had a broke lifter at 50K!). i replaced water pump, fan, hoses, main belt and all the fluids - trans, diff, etx. and regreased bearings. the interior is cherry. i had to weld the running board on driver side because it literally broke off - cheap POS. brush guard is ridiculous but tackle that later.
on the code 44, i have already tried a new O2 sensor on the left bank and no joy. i have adjusted air gap, replaced MAF and have all new distributor / wires / plugs. i can only think of a wiring problem at this point or the ECU itself, god forbid. I am debating trying to read the sensor reading at the ECU plug for the 0-1 V signal to isolate the problem but really dont know what the next best course of action is. i would like it to pass emissions test so i dont have to buy a sticker and not lose mpg or carbon up my engine. if you have any pearls of wisdom here, that would help a lot.