This post gives you an idea what was happening. First, the valve wasn't powering on with the key. We eventually opened the valve as can be seen here. With a cleaning of the valve, replacement of the computer Darlington transistors which power the circuit, and eventually a replacement ISV due to corrosion, the valve still refused to power.

A friend of mine brought over a spare computer and sure enough, with that installed, the ISV powered right up. Whatever 'fix' we had done with the transistors didn't work. The circuit which powers the ISV is not functioning properly. And that's that.

The easiest solution was to purchase a replacment ECU for the computer. They're $2500 new which is obviously out of the question. However, used ones online range anywhere up to $200. I snagged a replacement for $30 from the forums at PelicanParts.com. They're amazing folks there.

Popped it in and all was well. The ISV kicks on with the turn of the key and properly adjusts with engine temperature and RPM. I ran the car around the block to get it up to temperature then proceeded to adjust the idle. Since the ISV was malfunctioning, the idle had previously been ramped up high to compensate for the cold engine and lack of computer adjustment via the ISV. I bypassed the ISV by jumping pins #2 and #5 on the Diagnostic Port under the hood and adjusted it to sit at ~850rpm then removed the ISV bypass. The car now properly holds the RPM where it should and with any luck, will continue to do so, when the weather breaks to cold. No more holding the gas pedal on during the winter to keep the car idling.