The IACV might be fine, it could be you fast idle thermo valve. forget exactly what its called but its close to that. I think it is on the front of the throttle body, it easy to find because it has coolant tubes running to it.

You probably know this but there are two valves that bypass the the throttle plate to allow the motor to still get air. the IACV is controlled by the ECU the other one is mechanical; it is supposed to be open when the coolant is cold, but im not sure if it completely closes when its warm.

the best way to diagnose idle valve issues is to pull off the the intake to where you can see the two holes for the two valves. you can just stick you finger in them one at a time while the engine is running and see if it affects the idle. If blocking one off has no effect that valve is not working.

your idle is surging so that is ECU trying to stabalize the idle so your IACV is somewhat functional.

usually if your idle is off, it is for a reason, adjusting the throttle plate just covers the underlying problem, although if your motor has been swapped that could just be the problem.

If the idle valve seems OK It could also be your PCV valve

Im not sure about the knock sensor, except I think it has a green plug.