Nissan Repair: Engine starts rough, nissan hardbody, cold mornings

Question
Hi Calvin,
I have a 1996 Nissan Hardbody 2X4 with less than 80,000 miles.  When I start early in the morning (about 5:30) the engine runs really rough with a bit of jerking and sounds like it is going to die. I press the gas to rev it up and it falters but revs up.  It takes about ten minutes of driving before this goes away. It happens only in the lower gears. It doesn't happen every morning, but I notice it seems to happen especially when it's parked on a slope or it's been raining. It never happens later in the day. I live in Guam so there aren't any cold mornings.  I change the oil regularly. I have no other problems with it. Can you give me any advice on what could be the problem?

Answer
HI Steve -

Try checking the distributor cap and rotor. There might be some carbon tracking. Also check the wires and terminal connections, sounds like you got some corrosion somewhere. Have you replace the spark plugs recently? When was your last tune up?

Let me know -
aloha
calvin