to hear you say that your '97 was made in November of that year. I was at the factory in August of 1997 and the 1998 models were rolling off of the line then.

Secondly, I don't believe there is an antenna in the windshield. I think it is in the rear window. There is a a piece of electronics in the rear "C" pillar ( I think it is on the driver side) that can cause bad reception if it fails or if the connection between the antenna and it is bad.