I would appreciate anyone's input on this one:

Over the weekend I cleaned the Throttle Body on my 97 Maxima. It wasn't too dirty because I had cleaned it about a year ago.

I used carburetor cleaner, a rag and a toothbrush. When I finished, the throttle plate and air tunnel were pristine.

After putting the car back together, I drove it around and had no problems until this morning. I tried to cold start it and for some reason the car barely started. It seemed like the engine didn't engage the auto-choke.

Normally during a cold-start, the engine revs to about 1,500 - 2,000 rpm instantly. But this morning the engine barely sputtered to life at 500-750rpm. It still started, but not with as much authority as it normally does.

I also opened the hood and noticed a "ticking" sound coming from one of the electronic components near the throttle body.

I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the throttle body cleaning because I didn't really do anything else to the vehicle. I just changed the fuel filter.

Inside the throttle body there is a small hole on the bottom side. Is this some sort of idle sensor? I might have allowed the carb cleaner to drip down this hole. Hope this wasn't a problem.

Does anyone have any ideas? Any comments are appreciated.