For a while there I was getting nowhere with my tests. I have always tried not to throw parts at my old car, and this time I did stray from that path. When I could not figure this problem out, I went ahead and ordered a new coil & cps, and found a used ezl on eBay.
While I was waiting for the parts to arrive, I had a chat with my old trusty indie , who claimed that in his experience both the cps & ezl either live or die - no intermittent life there,so in his knowledgeable opinion I should rule these items out. The coil, maybe.( does anyone have a different experience ? )
I showed him the (beru) cap&rotor off the car, and even though they looked OK to the eye and only had about 30000KM on them, he suggested replacing with an original set from the dealer!. Claimed the substitutes don't cut it. Some are actually quite poorly made.
Now over the years I have used numerous parts that were oem or third party in the car, and thought nothing of it . Still I went ahead and installed the new cap/rotor set in yesterday, and the car fired right up and has not stalled - yet. Will drive for a few days and see whether this is the cure.
will update again