Greetings. I found a book about 10 years ago on Automotive Fuel Injection. It started with the first prototype Bendix ElectoJector (vacuum tube!) on a Buick Skylark (I believe) V-8 and progressed through the 1980s systems. It had some really interesting things to say about the system on the 1980s Imperials--like that Chrysler Aerospace had a strong hand on the design and also mentioned the primary and secondary injectors. The "fuel plate" design made sense in some respects, but the placement of the mass air flow sensor AND it's relationship to how well the seal around the top of the air cleaner is did make for some interesting situations.
The reason the air cleaner top seal is so critical (and has the band clamp around the perimeter) is that the sole source of the air flow information has to come through the snorkle and across the sensor for any readings/signals to the computer to happen. Take the top of the air cleaner off, or get it on a little crooked and the integrity of the signals will be compromised (the degree depends on the size of the air leak). Of course, if the engine's running and you take the top of the air cleaner off, the mass air flow sensor signal goes away and the engine dies. THAT never happened with a carb! Seems like there's also a seal for under the wing nut too?
I ran across a guy at the motel we were at in Columbus, OH for the second Mopar Nats I went to, back in the late 1980s that had purchased a really clean Imperial. He was a Chrysler tech and knew the system pretty well. He'd seen the elderly female owner drive the car for many years and had been watching to see if it showed up anywhere on a used car lot. Then he saw the grand daughter or daughter driving it. Sure enough, it ended up at the back of a dealer's used car lot. He changed out of his work uniform and went to see about it. The salesman didn't know much other than it wasn't running right. They started it up for him and he looked it over. He noticed that the air cleaner top was not on squarely and the band clamp was whopperjawed, meaning air leaks. He negotiated the price down some and bought the car. When he got it home, he put the top and clamp on straight and it ran perfectly.
Back then, Jeff Johnsom Motorsports in the Columbus area had several of the Imperials at the meet at his swap meet space. Cars, parts, etc. He concurred that the system was misunderstood and better than many gave it credit for being. I found the book a couple of years later.
Congrats on keeping yours alive. It's a really high-tech system compared to the simpler systems that Ford and GM used back then.
I've got an original printing of the "Ride" book, but have yet to crack it open. The way that whole deal came down made me so mad that I quit "playing cars" with my Chryslers. I know I need to and am getting back into the mood, finally. I also have both of the Lutz books "GUTS". They are really neat to read and informative and entertaining. The second one has no real secrets about the "merger" and he even supports it as necessary (which I don't really agree with myself), but that's another issue all together.
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