I tried jump starting my 98 Altera after flattening the battery, now it will start but really needs the throttle opened to get it to run and splutter for about 10 seconds before it dies. I've checked all the fuses and relays. I got a mechanic to look at it he said auto elec, the auto elec said I they couldn't work it out either after a week but wanted to send the computers away at $250 a pop, so i towed it home. I'm hoping someone has had the same thing happen although i have looked a little and couldn't find the exact same problem. It's dual fuel and wont start at all on petrol but sputters and dies on gas. It was running nicely before I ran the battery flat, I'd just had timing belt done. Any advice on how I can get it back to running would be greatly appreciated

Have a look here (http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-62185.html)

My TJ and TL won't idle correctly after a battery disconnect, either.
You need to keep the throttle open to keep it running near normal idle speed, then back off until revs drop really low - gives the ECU time to get the ISC to do the right thing. (Just driving it won't help.)
Can take anything up to 10 or 15 minutes on my TJ juggling the idle speed before it steadies. Don't drive the car with an unsteady idle, loosing power steering on a corner is a bit annoying and potentially dangerous.

After starting, the ECU checks the battery voltage and, if it's too low, it kills the motor. Possibly the flat battery is pulling too much load and the voltage from the alternator doesn't get high enough quickly enough, or possibly there's a problem with the charging circuit (how did the battery get flattened?). Best bet would be to charge the battery overnight on a battery charger if available or swap it for a known-good battery if possible and see if it runs better.

Thanks for your help on this! The battery got flat when my mate tried starting it after having the radio on running the battery low, I could hear him cranking it til it was dead, but couldn't get there in time to tell him to just pump the gas a bit, its all it needed...
Even with a good battery it wont idle, only runs for about 5 seconds. Ensoniq5 sounds like the right diagnosis though.