There are several things that can cause your car to only run for five seconds and then stall. The most common cause is a plugged fuel filter or a malfunctioning fuel pump.
As long as your car engine is running, it should be OK. An exhausted battery will only become a problem when you try to start the car.
I found out what the problem was - the idle air controller
No.
Usually Tinfoil does spiral, but I only found this with the cheaper brands.
You will be running off the battery power only. Once the battery is run down you be stuck, unable to start.
Fuel pump problem
If that is the only problem, then yes.
Your 99 diesel will only start running when the block heater is plugged in because your glow plugs need replaced. The fuel is not reaching a high enough temperature to initiate compression.
Only rich people can run
It's burning oil, does this happen when you first start it or does it do it all the time ? if only when you first start it, you could have bad valve guide seals and then they need to be replaced, if it does it all the time the engine is running it may be time to rebuild the engine.
too many programs running at start up
The starter relay or solenoid is probably the problem.