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Question: What is causing my mitsubishi eclipse to almost die after starting it?

I started my car and quickly put it in reverse. While putting my car into reverse i heard a suctioning/gurgaling noise that sounded like it was coming from the gas tank. then my headlights and interior lights began to dim in and out at the same time that my car began sputtering and sounded like it was about to die. The RPMs were jumping as well between 1000 and 400 RPMS. so i quickly put the car into park and gave it a little gas. after i did that the car began to idle at 500 to 600 RPMS, which i am assuming is normal for a 2001 mitsubishi eclipse GT. I also notice there was quite a bit of corrosion on my battery, which i then cleaned off with cable cleaner. I let my car sit for a little bit and then started it again. I heard the suctioning noise again but this time the car ran fine, or like usual. Im not sure if this is relevant or not, but the driveway that my car was sitting in is slightly inclined. Any ideas as to what may be going on. This is the first time this has happened.