Hi. I am a 2001 Astro van owner. Yesterday I pulled up to a stop light. Everything seemed to have been good with the engine. I went to pull away to cross the street and suddenly the engine began to miss and stalled when I turned the wheel. It would start but has no power to move any distance. Last winter I installed a new distributor and a couple of years ago a new fuel pump. Last winter a new fuel filter was also installed. It turns out that the starter quit after trying to get it to run yesterday but have no reason to believe it had anything to do with the original stall situation. Any ideas?

 

Few simple things may have to be checked before anything big.
Vacuum leak ( check vacuum hoses)
Contaminated fuel or clogged fuel filter or lines.
I can't suspect spark plugs since as you described, it happened all at ones ( no 6 spark plugs go bad within 10 seconds).
At the same time you are doing this check ups, you may also want to check for electrical connections by just making sure connectors are pared securely.
I also suspect a low fuel pressure. Any visible leak? I hope not.
Fuel system on your van is pressurized, be careful. Can be a bad fuel pump or relay, but I would start with simple ones first.
Starter is not associated with original situation. Its job is just to crank the flywheel until the motor picks up and disengage after you release the ignition key. Probably the battery is drained after excessive attempts to start and needs to be charged.
But then again, a bad battery may be the core cause of all of symptoms you described.

 

I forgot to ask if before stalling you noticed any warning lights on instrument panel?
If yes, was the Battery red light on? A shorted alternator will cause the problems you described!