2001 2.0 auto all stock. had issues with a misfire in cyl. 3 and then in 2. changed plugs, wires, coils, and an egr valve.
now the car has a very rough idle, almost wants to die when put in gear. If i rev to 2k rpm, it sounds fine, but at normal idle speed (800 rpm) is sounds bad. while idling, there is white smoke from the exhaust, it smells like fuel. when idling, the sound is not consistant, it sounds like there is a misfire.
could this be an injector issue? at this point, there are no engine codes.

 

Since the egr was replaced, I would recheck all your vacuum lines. Make sure they are where they are supposed to be and not cracked/leaking.
I have a friend that went crazy tracking down a problem like you describe after replacing the EGR, and he finally discovered that he had reinstalled the vacuum hoses incorrectly... after three weeks!!! There should be a vacuum hose schematic under the hood somewhere that will help guide you.

Then there is the issue Proto's have of a cracked intake hose... a known issue with these cars. Check for any cracks/leaks in it. If there are any, replacing it is your only option. (+/-$85) short of installing a CAI or SRI in its place.

If all that fails, the MAF may need cleaning or replacing.

My only other guess would be a stuck valve in the closed evaporative fuel system. If the return check valve becomes stuck, it can cause some pretty strange issues, and will not throw a CEL right away either.

 

intake hose has been replaced. vacuum leak would cause hesitation, but why does the exhaust smell like fuel? and why would it be white?

 

And white smoke from the tail usually means coolant, which should smell sweet.

 

i removed a spark plug and that cylinder had fuel in it. either a bad fuel injector, or that cylinder has no spark.

 

check your oil for a milkshake color. that is internal coolant leak. look for a intake leak, you can hear a bad one. an injector o-ring could be the cause of a fuel smell

 

its not coolant. oil is fine.

 

what did the spark plugs look like

 

it was the injector. replaced all four and the car runs good now.
the last thing i would like to change is the fuel filter. is it located in the fuel tank?