i was looking for something else and ran across this little note. thought
it might be of some interest out there:

Volkswagen Technical Newsletter
88-N04

High Pressure, Low Performance

A Volkswagen that stalls when the engine is cold or after driving a few
hundred feet could be suffering from an air/fuel imbalance.  It could also
have a bad oil pump.  That's right, oil pump!  If the same engine has zero
compression, the chances are even greater than the oil pump is to blame.

If the oil pressure relief valve sticks, oil pressure could rise to over
200 psi when you accelerate to drive off.  With pressure that high, the
hydraulic valve lifters will overextend themselves, causing the valves to
hang open.  After the engine warms up, the car will probably run great the
rest of the day.  So check the oil pressure when you've tried everything
else to solve a stalling problem ... believe it or not!