Hello to all who have been following this saga, and especially those who
responded, helpfully.
At long last, I believe we have found the problem....((drum roll))...
It is DEFINATELY the ignition! We put a timing light on the car and ran it.
The timing light would stop instantaneously, then the engine. However, the
problem does not lie in the coil...((oohs and ahhs))...
It is simply a bad contact on the ignition switch!! We noticed, while trying
to start the car, that, as I mentioned before, the car sputtered when we quit
trying to start it (let the key go back to the "on" position). Investigating
further, we found that if one barely (and I mean barely) turned the key to
start, it would fire. Turn it any further, and you could sit there all day
cranking the starter, and no dice. The reason the car would die randomly is
because the remaining "hot" area for the ignition is so minimal, that if I
tap the steering wheel too much, or hit a good bump, it would brush off the
"hot spot" and die.
We're going to replace this mechanism, and pray that it solves the problem.
As they say, you can't count your chickens...
Thanks again to all, and I'll give you a further update when we see the
results of the replacement.
J
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