Hertz pointing out what should have been obvious to me. Short story...
One day in my 95 GSX, after I had done a 6 bolt swap due to a wasted rod bearing, I went to start up the car. It wouldn't start, nothing at all. After a few turns of the key, I suddenly saw smoke and smelt a burning a coming from the front. Behold, I had not put any ground to the motor. What this allowed for was ground, for the starter mind you so A LOT of ground, to be pulled through the throttle cable. It melted the inside sheath of the cable and fused it to the cable itself. Yes, this meant getting a new cable but more importantly, it meant ground went through the cable, into the TB and through the semi-metallic gasket between the TB and the intake manifold.
I don't believe the TB itself is a ground point, since it is insulated by the gasket from the manifold. Isn't the lower section of the TB, with the IAC motor, insulated from the top part of the TB by a gasket or sealant as well? Hence hooking a ground up to a TB bolt/stud to allow ground through the idle speed switch? This, may very well explain why my car is dying after I let off the throttle. The sensor is hooked up, but isn't working. It has no direct path to ground. Yes?
/brox