i replaced the fuel filter and its doing much better under load but the idle is still rough and trying to die out...im going to try to make my way home and then ill see if my scanner can tell me anything otherwise ill take it in to school and use a tech 2 on it

alright an update if anyone is wondering... the car made it home i hooked up my scanner and my post cat o2 has a higher voltage than the precat so i have a bad o2 its not switching like it should and my fuel trim is now 20+

once your cat is warmed up the post cat o2 shouldn't be switching it should hold steady at around 450mV +- 100mV if it's switching it means the cat isn't working. or if the voltage is above 750 or below 250. these values are for a lit off cat, on warm up it will vary all over but mostly low voltages because it should have low oxy levels due to rich start-up. and for a pre cat o2 normal is between 150-850mV at operating temp. if the pre o2 isn't switching quickly i'd replace that first.

if the front o2 isn't switching fast it can easily cause fuel trims to be way out, and if the MAF is faulty. you said in a previous post the hot wire in the MAF burnt out? did you replace it with a gm original or used one? or aftermarket if there is such a MAF?

some of your technical info doesn't jive. :confused:

if there are no pulses from the engine coming through the tail pipe just heat, does it also sound over muffled? this is a dead give away that the cat has become plugged or the stone broke apart. i didn't mention it before because i've never seen a cat break apart on w-bodies just get plugged. if the stone came apart it could be lodged in another part of the exhaust like resonator or pipes. try disconnecting the cat to res flange and run it then it will be loud but will rule out other parts of the exhaust being plugged. if its okay when you've done that good luck getting the broken pieces out probably better off getting a cat-back for it.

well first off the assholes at advanced sold me a "brand new" maf (aftermarket) and inside was a maf that was factory and no better than the one i already had!! and they didnt want to return it cuz they didnt believe it was truly the one i had in the box but finally they gave me a real brand new one but it still isnt working. here's where im at: it runs rough and dies out with the maf plugged in. and if i unplug it it idles but around 2 but its much more smooth

so if anyone is still reading this or even wondering i finally got the problem figured out...there was a hole melted in the upper intake manifold...not the usual area for a vacuum leak but it definately was one