01' Starting and stalling

I am proud to say that my wife's 01' SL1 has 64,536 miles on it, and only the tires, brakes and battery have needed to be attended to, until now! Earlier today the car wouldn't start without a couple tries. The engine was turning over fine. Finally after the car started, it's RPMs dropped dramatically after I hit the A/C..to the point where the car stalled. I fired her up again, and she started and ran fine. Next, I'm driving and notice that as I release the pedal to coast, it felt as if the brakes were being lightly applied. I checked the emergency brake, it's not engaged. And finally, when I was backing out of a parking space, the car stalled again, this time illuminating the Check Engine Light. It took several attempts to start the car again at this point. I tuned the car up about 6 months ago, had the front disks replaced 4 months ago and changed the oil about 2 months ago..Any ideas?
Oh, I forgot to mention, I never replaced the fuel filter because everywhere I looked wanted 50 buck or more for one, because for some strange reason they come with new fuel lines. I put off replacing it, is that a possible culprit? Thanks a lot in advance for any pointers! 2001 SL1 SOHC 1.9

That could very well be the culprit. Does it run sluggishly? Hows the timing? Have the engine code read at an auto parts store (they do it for free) that will at least put you in the ballpark.

well it could be the fuel filter. i was going to say fuel pump, but i think your year wasnt much of a problem.

id say first get the fuel filter and have the light checked out. now is it the service engine soon light or the service with like a wrench light?

Yes, I planned on taking it in to autozone asap for scanning. The fuel filter for this car is apparently built with the fuel sending unit, so I understand the high price for one now! It's not sluggish at all, no hesitation or misfire. I'll post back after I get the OBD II scanned. I still plan on replacing the fuel filter regardless, at 64k it's long overdue! And the light comes up in words, however I have seen the wrench light illuminate on a normal starting basis. I always assumed this meant service engine soon also. Thanks for all the input!

I got the car scanned today. DTC U1300 "Class 2 Short to Ground"
Any ideas?

DTC U1300 Class 2 Short to Ground
Refer to Data Link Connector (DLC) Schematics

Circuit Description
The class 2 serial data line communicates information between the modules. Each module connected to the serial data line is assigned a recognition code, or address. This code is used in order to identify which modules are communicating. Modules communicate with each other by periodically sending state of health (SOH) messages. When the ignition switch (http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/#) is in RUN, each module that is communicating on the serial data line sends an SOH message every 2 seconds. This ensures that the system is operating properly. The module also monitors the serial data line for short to ground. If the module detects a short to ground for more than 3.0 seconds, the module stores the class 2 Bus Shorted to ground DTC U1300.

cant help you too much with this. i think you need a diagnostic scanner to go through and find the problem, not the things they have at auto zone. its an expensive tool.