Keeps Dying

I recently bought an 86 Cutlass. It no longer has most of the computer controlled components installed. The person installed the engine and carbuerator.. and thats more or less it.

Its a 307 and of course, a quadrajet carb. My problem is that, if I push the gas a couple of times, it will start right up.. but dies almost immediately.

The choke is entirely shut unless the throttle is pressed. I beleive this remains true even after the engine heats up. If I let off of the throttle, the choke closes. Even with the throttle pressed the choke only opens about a quarter inch.

Also... on the rear barrels... secondaries I beleive they are called.... they close up tight when the throttle is pressed. If you set them open, and press the throttle... the close up tight and cant be opened as long as you keep the throttle pressed.

I would like someone to tell me how much of this is improper operation... and how I might go about fixing any of it. I don't know much about how a carb or choke works, or is supposed to work. I'm just kind of guessing that this may be my problem.

Also... I just replaced the plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor button. I'm praying I dont have to replace the coil pack though.

Just.... give me whatever ideas you have if you can. Any help would be appreciated as this car is beginning to be a major headache.

The carb has two plates. The top most plate is the choke plate, below that is the throttle plate. It is the throttle plate that opens and closes when you press the gas pedal. Now you can't see the throttle plate because it down inside the carb and the choke is blocking its view.
The throttle plate opens when you push the gas pedal and the throttle plate closes when you release the gas pedal.

The choke is the opposite. It is there to help the engine start up. As you press the gas pedal, the choke closes to help suck more air (vacuum) for proper mixture of air and gas. When the engine is already running and you let it IDLE, the choke gradually opens and it will be open all the time as long as the engine is at an operating temperature.

Chokes were used to be manually operated. Now, the choke is control automatically by either electrically or mechanically.
With eletrical control, the choke is controled by a device that is fed by voltage to operate the choke.
With mechanical control, the choke is controlled by a heat sensitive device and the heat is coming from the engine exhaust.

Try starting the vehicle with the gas pedal press down and leave it press down so it would not stall and keep it there for a 2-3 minutes and see if it keeps the IDLE steady.