The engine should run fine without the AFM plugged in or at least this is true with MAF based engines. It will just sit on a default worst case map and not perform as well.
It sounds more like a lack of fuel getting through, probably the high pressure pump on its way out. When you open the throttle plate to pull away it's just taken a big gulp of air and died but there was enough to keep it idling. Unlikely to be cam/crank sensors I'd have thought as it wouldn't start properly if the DME can't work out the engine position. Modern cars will refuse to even try and start under this condition but things may have been different with the M20. I've had coils go before and the car idles fine but when you try to pull away it rattles you to bits but doesn't stall. I think your M20 has a distributor anyway so...can't be that.
Thinking about it this sounds just like my mate's 330 that refused to pull away the other day. It idled fine but as soon as you lifted the clutch it died. He's fallen foul of the common problem on BMWs where the siphon between the two sides of the tank stops working and you can't let the tank drop below a 1/4 without getting stranded. It's especially bad on a hill start where the fuel runs to the back of the tank.
Last edited by morris; 20th May 2014 at 19:57..
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