My MPG just seems to keep going down no matter what I try.
2007 Tahoe 5.3 Flex Fuel
4x4
Anything come to mind after hearing my long winded story?
Jolly Roger - I don't know what AFM is, and I have NO IDEA how any engine built after 1996 works but it strikes me you should find a competent mechanic who excels at diagnosis, have a compression test, and basically fix what the codes are implicating. Strikes me an exhaust analysis might shed light too.
However, in principal if you were getting 16mpg had no problems and no codes, then put a lift and 33" tires on it, I would expect at least a 10-12% drop in gas mileage no matter where you started from. That would be within each type of driving or driving range, so the mileage drop in actual gallons would vary depending on your speed. It sounds like you already knew this(?), but are lamenting that it's been made worse by the problems that preceded your tire size change.
Incidentally, .... and I'm not trying to be a dick or killjoy here, but with an IFS SUV like these, a lift and big tires has limited benefit off-road. It lifts the body out of harms way but does nothing for articulation. At the end of the day we still have IFS in front.
Don't get me wrong! Getting that undercarriage up and away from the rocks is worth something. You don't have to be as careful or slow. However if you going to do a lift and you're serious about trails a solid front axle conversion might be worth the effort and I think doing that conversion actually necessitates a lift.
Easiest ways to kill mileage are underinflated tires, altering aerodynamics (even by lifting), increase in tire/wheel or drive-line weight, oversized hi-output alternators.
RBlack - 90 Blazer[retired], 96Tahoe [retired], 2020 Tahoe