Volvo: 1983 Volvo Wagon - starts then dies after shift, volvo wagon, home mechanic

Question
I just bought a an old 1983 Volvo wagon and it's been running
great for the last few weeks. But then this morning, after starting
right up, I shifted out of Park and the car immediately died. This
process repeated a few more times, starting and running fine until
the shift out of Park. Now it won't start at all, it just cranks and
cranks.

I had heard that this model has a faulty (Chysler?)
distributor cap, could that be the problem? I'm hoping it's not the
wiring harness because that sounds like a tough fix for a home
mechanic. The car sat outside for a couple of years in it's last
home, so maybe that's got something to do with it. Any ideas?
Thanks!

Answer
Balin,
The Chrysler system is one that comes with some fault. Now that one will have a white dist cap. I do believe that the white cap vehicles were only 81 and 82 Y/M vehicles. You need to check for spark and for fuel. Make sure you have a good battery fully charged, before continuing your checking for fuel and spark.