Pontiac Repair: 2006 Grand Am Wont Idle, ac delco parts, fuel pressure regulator

Question
My 2006 Pontiac Grand Am SE 6 Cyl, has had a gas smell (mostly at idle) for some time, that we could not find, but it ran fine. All of a sudden this car will not idle. It runs fine down the highway or street, but as soon as you pull up to a stop sign or light, it dies immediately. I suspect that the gas smell is the fuel pressure regulator, you can smell gas in the vacuum hose when you pull it off. But I don't know if this could have degenerated into this problem or not. You can prevent the car from dying if you keep the rpms  1000-1500. Also it will idle at start up when its cold, but if you put it in gear it dies, or when it warms up it will die, unless you keep the rpms above 1000-1500

Answer
Hi Bradley:

You may have found the problem right there. There should be no fuel in the vacuum hose at the regulator. If there is like you said the diaphram ruptured in the regulator and is causing it to run overly rich. An overly rish mixture can cause all the issues you mentioned in your question. It more then likely started as a small leak and has gotten worse to the point it's afecting the way the car runs. if there is gas in the vacuum line replace the regulator. Use only an AC Delco part from the dealer or a AC Delco parts store. no aftermarket parts to fix it. good luck :)