How cold is a "cold morning" in Alabama these days? The PCM richens the A/F mixture and elevates the idle speed when the engine is cold, based on the coolant temp. Colder it is, the richer the mixture. A faulty coolant temp sensor can really mess things up. That's one of the places where the scanner comes in.
To test for "flooding" put the accel pedal on the floor before you turn the key to start, and hold it on the floor until the engine starts. That puts the PCM in "clear flood" mode.