BMW Repair: 1989 BMW, air flow meter, bmw 325i

Question
Just purchased 1989 BMW 325i 112k miles.  Drove GREAT for 4 days.  Cleaned under the hood when i detailed it.  Now it won't start.  Battery is fine, plugs have spark, air filter is clean, smells of gas when i try to start.  Only starts when I unhook the hose that goes from the air filter to the engine.  Runs fine, but if i turn the car off for a few minutes it won't start back up.  Please help.  Thanks!

Answer
This a little weird. From the first part of the question I would think that there is water under the distributor cap, but removing the air intake boot to start makes no sense. In doing so you are removing the air flow meter so that may have been damaged. I would first try to run the car as long as possable to dry it out but I guess you have tried that. Please get back to me if drying out do not fix.
      Good luck, Kimber