low idle speed in '97 cougar xr7? help?

[buymeabmwm3]

I have a white '97 Cougar XR-7 that has been having lots of problems lately with the fuel delivery system (i think), and twice the auto shop has been little to no help. When the car is sitting at red light, the engine doesn't seem to get a rich enough fuel-air mixture. The oil gage bounces real low and if I don't blip the gas occasionally, the engine stalls out. I am inclined to think that something must be wrong with either the injectors or the fuel pump, although it may be a back pressure issue.
I'm also not ruling out a possible problem with the transmission because in regular driving, the timing on the shifts (particularly down) goes screwy. Not to mention that the auto tranny never wants to get above 2000rpm (even though max hp is at 4000 and max torque is at 2750) unless i push it, in which case its all too eager to double downshift rather than single down.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should check out/fix? Does this sound like a purely transmission problem, or is there something less costly that i should consider?

[buymeabmwm3]

oh and one more thing. I know that my younger brother did a couple of neutral-drops in the car a while back . Would this cause problems with the car at idle?

[MercCougarXR7]

Neutral drops won't hurt idle, but they can easily snap your rear half-shafts if you have a powerful motor and sticky tires. Not to mention screw up u-joints. Give him a slap !

When you say it doesn't 'want' to go over 2000, do you mean it shifts early, or it 'won't' go over 2000?

I'd be taking that to a shop to have it looked at.

Did you check your post in the Mercury section? I have a more detailed answer there.

[TheMan5952]

That happens at idle in my friend '91 Thunderbird LX with a 5.0 HO and auto tranny.