Ford Repair: 2.8V6, FAILS TO IDLE, negative battery cable, fuse one

Question
My problem has doubled: It started with periods when the engine would quit each time i came to a light or stop sign, but then this would clear itself up and performance was great. Then it got worse: now the engine starts right up but to keep it running I have to keep the revs up to about 2000. I remove throttle, and the engine quits in about 3-4 seconds(no sputtering-just stops!}
Then first time i tried to start the engine(the day after it became impossible to drive as described above), my battery was drained. I put in a fully charged spare, and the engine started right up, still had the stall out problem just as bad, but the battery was drained in a matter of hours. What could be the source of such a severe short? Does its emergence in light of the stalling problem point to anything? How would I search for the source of the drain? And,if they're just coincidental, what might be the likely culprit? What to check? This is a 86 Aerostar W/ automatic. I've already put in a newTFI module (no improvement) and cleaned and checked my EGR valve. My main concern is to find the short, but I'm contemplating removing the carb. But it's freezing outside Help! Many thanks

Answer
You can test for a short by removing the negative battery cable and installing a test light between the cable and the battery post.  The light will illuminate if there is a draw.  Remove each fuse one at a time until the light goes out; reinstall it if it has no effect.  If you find by removing a fuse that the light goes out, you have found the problem circuit.  You can then unplug components in that circuit until the light goes out again, this will tell you what is causing the draw.  You would than have to determine if an electrical component is causing the draw, or a shorted wire.  If a wire is in-fact the cause, you will have to inspect the wires to that component.  As far as the stalling, I think that you should check for the short first; if this engine has an electronic choke, and it is bad, it may be causing the intermittent stalling.

I hope this helps,
Dave