Hi, thanks for the response (& sorry for my long delay in getting back to you). I am still trying to figure out the type of engine and everything, so please bear with me. It's a 5 speed manual transmission. I'm pretty sure it's a 4 cylinder engine, no idea how many valves, but I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out. I'm pretty sure it's carburated, but I've attached a photo of my engine compartment, so maybe you can help me out a bit with figuring it all out? I'm also wondering if that's a maintenance-type battery?
Since I posted this, my car no longer starts. It turns over, though, so my best guess is that this is all related to the fuel system, and I don't need to worry about checking the battery, alternator, etc??? I checked the throttle cable and it was quite slack, so I tightened it a bit according to the Haynes manual, but that made no difference to the gas pedal. I haven't been able to find any help for checking the response under the hood when the gas pedal is moved, but I will update when I get that done. I also need to figure out what my fuel pump would look like before I can check if I have the one on the outside of the gas tank. I'll try to do a bit of poking around tomorrow when my daughter is at school.
I have the manual that comes with the car, but it really doesn't have any useful information as far as repair goes, basically just how to operate it and where everything is. I tried to get a Bentley manual, but they are quite pricey. I'm keeping my eye out for a good price on eBay though.
I could definitely use some tips on what kind of tools I am going to need to buy in order to figure out what the problem is (I'll cross the 'fixing the problem' bridge when I get to it).
In any case, thanks so much for any help you can give me.