I would say the battery is either not being fully charged (loose/coroded ground strap or connectors or alternator) or the battery is not holding a charge (voltage drops quite a bit when a load is applied from a weak cell inside the battery). Average life of a battery is about 3 years. If you have an auto parts store around, they can test the battery for free.

If you want to test your battery you'll need a voltmeter. 13.8 - 14.4 volts charging at idle, turn on every electrical gizmo in truck, and it should stay above 13.2 if alternator OK. With truck off, measure volts again, let's say it is 13.2. Turn on head lights. Should not drop like a stone to less than 12 volts.

You would be wise to attend to this promptly, batteries love to leave you stranded. Also if battery goes dead while truck is locked you will enter a new world of alarm related immobilization.

 

Chances are the excess oil that stayed up in the head causing the leak from the valve cover also is causing the idle issue. The IAC probably needs to be cleaned as well as the throttle body. The PCV hose that comes off the valve cover probably sucked some oil into the IAC circuit of the plenum. Normally the IAC circuit only see's oil vapor, but if enough oil was still on the top of the head when you started it the IAC circuit probably got oil in liquid form.

Battery going dead while truck is locked is actually not an issue. The alarm system will awake in the state it was in when the battery died. Just make sure you hold the hood switch down while you put the negative terminal on the battery post or the alarm will think the truck is being jacked. If you fail to do this You can close the hood and keep playing with the buttons on the key fob until the truck decides to start. Best to hold the hood switch down though, before you end up teaching the neighbors kids a whole new vocabulary. You would be amazed how loud you yell obscenities when you are deaf from the alarm sounder.

 

And if you don't have a key fob - more fun.

 

Yep, you'll want to push it into a pond at that point.

 

I don't have a fob, and I unplugged by hood switch for that reason. However, I don't live in a metro area where everyone has to be an expert mechanic to take their engine block inside each night....

 

Definitely taking your advice. When we get back this weekend I'm going to just grab a new battery (this one's looking kind of old) and probably some new terminals and run them with my mechanic. Gonna try to reposition the ground as well if I can, any suggestions for a location?

Also, thanks for the suggestions Higgs, I cleaned the throttle body but not the IACV during maintenance (didn't feel like fiddling with it at the time and the idle was perfect), but I think you're probably right about the oil. Really glad I didn't drive too far while doing all this maintenance first week, would've been infuriating. Will report back later on this weekend but I suspect those two things are my problem, particularly the battery as I recall last night at one point when I tried to start it the lights and everything died and came back, so I'm asssuming both the battery is on it's way out and getting the already slightly corroded connections wet with oil/coolant didn't help.

 

Not sure above move ground, but clean it up would be good. Important point when you remove the IACV, don't manipulate the business end of it. Clean with carb cleaner, just don't try to slide it in/out or twist it by force.

 

The easy way to perform a PM (preventative maintenance) on a DI is to run both passenger side wheels onto ramps, this puts both driveshafts high in the air and points the drain plug down towards the drain pan.

 

So, ended up being the positive terminal actually. I got a better look at the ground wire and we tested the battery and found that it was fine, and after some tests we realized that the clamp had gotten corroded to the point where, even after I had cleaned it, the connection wasn't being made. When I got it jumped, the jumper cable must've clamped the terminal to the positive end. Bought a new one and good as new.

Also, Valve Covers seem to be doing well and I've replaced the quart I unnecessarily drained. Now for this bumper...

 

Great. May want to check these connectors out, and follow the one that goes to the positive cable, these carry most of the power for the truck and charging the battery.