Toyota Repair: 89 Camry,4cyl, auto,80,000 mi,l owner in TX, vacuum advance, engine misfire

Question
In the a.m. after short drive (l mile) the car starts to miss.You stop and turn on the a/c the add. load will cause the car to die & after 3 or 4 tries to get it started it will start, but misses and struggles to move and sometimes dies again(like bad vacuum advance).If you can get a little speed,it smooths out somewhat and drives fair.After being driven for a short while(2 mi?)and letting it sit for atleast 30 min its ok the rest of the day.Driven only in city. HELP!

Answer
It sounds like an electrical engine misfire, the most common causes are spark plugs, plug wires, disrributor cap and rotor, try replacing all of these and when the distributor cap is off check the coil they can develop cracks, especially on the underside, look for any signs of arcing or cracks on the epoxy insulation.