Please confirm this is a CPS issue

I've read nearly every posting on the Jeep Cherokee forum and I've found the information extremely helpful. I now have a better understanding of the sensors I have on my Jeep. 1989 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer 4.0 4wd...

Here is my question, just the other day my wife tried to start the Jeep and it would not start. The engine would just turn over and over without fire. This was during the cool morning. During the heat of the day, I tried to start it and it started just fine. Following the advice I've seen on this forum, I stuck my hand down through the top of the engine and felt the CPS to insure that it was snug and not loose. Everything felt tight. My wife drove the Jeep the next day without issue until later that afternoon. She was about 5 miles from the house when it started running rough. During those 5 miles, the Jeep burned about an 1/8th of a tank of gas. A strong gas smell was noticable in the cab of the Jeep. When she pulled into the drive, I asked her to keep it running. I popped the hood but did not notice any smell of gas from under the hood. There was a gas smell coming from the exhaust pipe though.

The Jeep idled rough. Normally I change the plugs and wire after every 3rd oil change. It just happens to be time for that to happen, but with it not starting and the crappy gas milage, I'm thinking I should change the CPS also. The air filter was changed about 2000 miles ago.

What do you guys think about that? Any opinion is valued and appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

-HHD1

Could be the MAP sensor - especially if its running rich.

Welcome, thanks for reading...

Any other details that you can give will be very helpful in an approximate diagnosis of said problems... (being as that none of us can be there to experience them ourselves)
ie- how many miles? other work that has been done recently... etc... etc...

Try these:
http://autorepair.about.com/library/a/1i/bl534i.htm
http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Engine/Basic_Sensors_Diagnostics.htm
http://www.lunghd.com/Downloads_and_Links/Downloads.htm

Good luck!

Thanks for the links! I'll start looking them over.

The Jeep has 190,000 miles on it. We had a rear main seal replaced about 34000 miles ago. No other major repairs since.

Thanks again,

-HHD1