1997 malibu cuts off

Whenever i strat up my car I must give it gas, other words keep my foot on the gas pedal or keep tapping it. And once i get the car into drive and drive somewhere, when the car comes to a stop it would cut off.

This all began after i tried to fix the head gasket and never completed the job, but i messed a few thing in the process...

1. That rubber hose connected to the hard platic thing in the back of the engine snapped. And when I cut the car on smoke come out both ends.....

2. The gas gauges went under the black needle.........

You may have an air leak somewhere. Check the air intake from the air filter to the intake and make sure everything is sealed and tight. Any check engine lights?

For the gas gauge, you have a couple options: 1) you can bend a paper clip and stick it in around the odometer reset button and spend some time trying to push the gauge counterclockwise back to the correct side of the stop; or 2) take out the gauge cluster and remove the lens cover (it snaps on) then you can use your finger to push it counterclockwise to where it should be. I did #2 above and it worked fine. Since I've been having issues with my ignition system, I'm an expert at removing the trim and gauge cluster.

Good luck.