Carb issues: '85 FW AT Tercel Wagon

[AlexWho]

General question: the car is almost stalling/dying for the first 15 minutes of the drive. I can warm it up now w/one good pump of gas, but if I didn't keep my foot on the gas, it would die....(Used to be that I'd have to pump aggressively, start, no go,--to the 3rd time, and it would start.) I replaced hoses all over: they were rigid. I replaced each and every carb/fuel hose one at a time, to avoid a big screw up. I found 2 tiny hoses to the carb that were cracked, and one was barely one piece. The carb looks dirty, gunky: caramel, brown.
So--is it the AAP? And, if it sounds like that, where's the best place to buy the AAP? (All I've found so far is Geek Auto: $42... Is that reasonable?)
The funny thing is that w/2 air filters (since 3/12), new hoses, it's sounding better, but it's doing this ugh, unh, stalling thing for 15 minutes. It has more 'get up and go,' now, definitely, but it hiccups for the first 15 minutes, and if I did a 'bumper to bumper' number w/in the first 7 minutes of driving, it feels like it's going to die.
Additional info: there's a whole in a connector (exhaust) pipe. A mechanic tapped the catalytic converter and pronounced it 'sound.' (? Really?)
The hose to/from the evaporative canister fell apart when I took it off. I used to get this 'gas smell' from the car, now I don't.
Also: is it really 'ok' to put a 9.5 mm hose on the PCV to carb?...or 8.7? The original is old, rigid, not 'leaking', but it's a 9 mm. Does anyone carry a 9 mm hose? (Have not found one yet.)

This car has been very appreciated for every little 'fix' done to it. --Needs more attention. I'd like to remedy things quickly, based on what Petros said about a neglected AAP destroying the catalytic convertor.

[dlb]

hey alex. the AAP is easy to test, just pull the hose off it after letting the car run for a minute. if there's gas in the line, the AAP diaphragm is ruptured. alternatively, you can do the test in the FSM: when cold, start the engine; pinch the hose with a pair of vice grips or something similar; stop the engine; look down the passenger side barrel of the carb and release the hose; you should see a spray of gas. repeat the process when warm; gas should not spray. doesn't sound like an AAP to me though.

have you checked the various choke components?

[Petros]

did you verify all of the vac lines were routed correctly? Do not depend on who ever messed with them last got them on correctly (chances are they are not routed correctly). Use the correct vac diagram for your car and just verify they are all going to the correct place.

and as DLB noted, verify the choke is working properly. And there are a couple of cold start and run system in the car, verify if the High Altitude Compensator (HAC) is working properly (from the FSM tests) or by pass it, and verify the mixture control unit is working properly.

That price is way too high for just an APP, go to Rockauto.com and order a carb rebuild kit, they do not cost much and there is an AAP included in the kit. You might be able to buy just an APP from the Toyota dealer. But verify if you need one before you buy anything. Also, with the engine running you might spray some carb cleaner spray down the barrel of the carb (rev the engine way up so it does not stall out). Sometimes cleaning the gunk out of the throttle area helps the low speed and idle.

[AlexWho]

Ok. Thanks DLB & Petros. --Will check it out.