Should have asked this before, but is your check engine on? If not have you had it checked for trouble codes? Most auto parts stores can check them for you. This would be a good place to start if you can get the car that far. Also, do a good visual inspection. Pull the air filter & make sure nothing is living in there. Also check for any broken or chewed through wires. With the car sitting for two years you'd be suprised what you can find.

 

yes, the engine light does come on. i've having someone look at it tom. i have a question. Does it mean anything in this situation: the car is on in park, the engine is idling, and when the engine oil cap is taken off, air is sucked in. it's clearly heard. i put the top back on and then removed it, then it did it again, suction of air

 

i also changed the spark plugs, after doing so, the car did start better. i noticed that the old spark plugs were really dark, it' didnt look dirty or burnt, or build up, but just dark. is that expected or could that be a sign of something?

 

air flow is normal, I dont recommend removing the oil cap while the engine is running. The oil is pressurized, so messing with that could throw the engine off tune (temporarily I assume).

Old plugs will end up with a build up of carbon deposits and such, good idea to change them especially after the car's been sitting.

I dont know if this will help, as alot of this has been covered - but whenever I buy a used car I go through a ritual after purchasing it. Whether it needs it or not, I do the following:

Change Oil, Oil Filter - while doing so examine old oil for metal shavings, water spots
Change tranny fluid, filter - while doing so examine old tranny fluid for metal shavings
Flush coolant, new coolant, check for leaks
Change plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter
top off brake fluid, power steering, while doing so check that its not too discolored
bleed brakes, power steering, coolant if necessary

then a car wash

reason being, no matter what the person that gave/sold you the car tells you, you NEVER know when the last time any regular maintenance has been done, unless you do it yourself.

 

Kizzelwhix is right with what he says. It's hard to tell when it was actually done, especially when the car has sat as long as it has.

One more thing to change would be BOTH o2 sensors. The car is a 98 and you said the plugs are dark so it's probably burning too much gas. What kind of plugs did you put in the car? From the factory delco plugs were installed in it so you might want to get a set of them if you put something else in it.