i don't think your wife was imagining anything. for me, it all started with an enormous backfire, which included smoke. after that, the idling was insane, and rhythmic too. i think the bang had caused a hose to pop off. it was later reattached, but after that incident things just weren't the same. now it's like what yours has. can't keep itself idling. i start it up and the needle just drops, some times more quickly than others. to drive this thing i have to keep my foot on the gas almost constantly, otherwise it will stall. i took it to one of the best mechanics (supposedly) in the l.a. area and he immediately noticed that my fpr was dripping. he thought replacing it would fix the problem. but i installed a new one yesterday and there has been no improvement. i am really stumped. the scary thing is: if you with all your knowledge and resources haven't figured this one out, how in the world am i going to?

by any chance has your dash thermometer been acting up? mine has been flickering and often the temp will rapidly increase or decrease to extremes. could it be electrical?

keep me posted,
casey

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'93 300E 2.8, 188K