Oh, the Stories...!
Most Engineers know of the course "It works better when you plug it in", but many times I've had to use the post-grad course "It works better when you plug it in CORRECTLY".
Or, when starting the rebuilt 2GM20 for the first time... it immediately goes to FULL RPM. "OH NO", I think, "Thermal runaway!!!" and in a panic throw the fuel shutoff. Then I realize: 1. Cold engines rarely go into thermal runaway, and 2. I had the throttle reversed so it was full-throttle rather than idle. Oh, and I also realized that if it WAS thermal runaway, shutting off the fuel wouldn't help...
druid