Just a thought, from someone outside the CJ world...
The EGT indication on our engine warms for the first start of the day, the best I've ever seen is -21 in Oslo up to +5 prior to chucking in the fuel. Now if heat helps the engine gain its ITT indication, what would be wrong with a dry run prior to the engine start? As the compressors start doing their stuff, the air in the engine will warm and may bring the ITT into life??....?? (sufficient electrical energy aside!)