When you do a cold start there is no fuel in the intake manifold, and if it’s been sitting for several days there may be no fuel (or very little) in the float bowl). It needs some fuel to get going.
Cold - My procedure is to first pump the throttle 2-3 times and then crank the ignition with my foot off the accelerator. If the truck has been started within the last couple days it will usually then fire. However, if weather has dropped down into the teens it’s may not keep running easily. I often have to let it idle several minutes before it pulls without a part throttle bog.
- If it has been several days since driving the truck, I also first pump the throttle 2-3 times to add fuel and set the choke , but it may not fire because the float bowl has nothing for the accelerator pump to pump. I then turn it over again for a few seconds so the mechanical pump can fill the float bowl, and then do my normal cold start procedure.
For a hot restart I usually just crank ignition and keep my foot off the throttle. If I pump the throttle when it’s hot it gets too much fuel and floods.