need help!

okay. its 3:30am right now, and i need help with this problem. so i cant wait until later to post (so please forgive me if some parts dont make sense =D)

Earlier today (or shall i say, yesterday...) i was driving around. It was a pretty warm day. After driving for a while, i noticed the car started acting goofy. When i came to a stop, the engine would move and make noise (really hard to explain). Then, when i stepped on the gas, the car started bucking terribly, and then stalled (as if someone was driving stick for the first time, but its an automatic). It really puzzled me. havent had a problem with it before. After a few tries, i managed to put it into 1st gear and give it lots of gas. It started to go okay. Next set of lights, it started doing the same thing. So i put it in neutral and coasted into a parking lot. The temperature gauge was up in the middle (normally about where the fan kicks in). I turned off the car for a while thinking somehow it was overheating. After a few minutes, i managed to get back onto the highway and drive it to a friends.
Later that day, i went out to the store. Just minutes passed, and the temperature gauge was already in the middle, and the fan was on. It's never got that hot that fast before. Then... On my way home (just now =\ ) As i drive, the gas pedal seems really tough to push. (Considering how easy it was before) the car also seems to idle rough. But i noticed when i pulled onto the highway, the temperature gauge shot right up, then slowly made its way back down (car was cool before) and the fan didnt come on in that process. During the rest of the 20 minute drive home, the car's temperature seemed to be accurate... didn't make it up to the half way mark for the fan to kick in... yet there were times where it felt like it was going to stall.

I kno there is nothing wrong with the fan, because it does still come on. And i did notice that the temperature gauge goes a bit past the halfway mark before the fan comes on, and i do not think it did that before. normally it came on just as it hit. anyways... i got to get some rest. i am open to any possible diagnosis!

(ooh. and during the whole trip, the engine light did not come on at all, which is weird... well, i think its weird. obviously somethings wrong, hehe)

I have no idea but judging by the poor throttle response and a cheap way to atleast try something - fill up your gas tank and pour in a bottle of fuel injector cleaner. I'm no mechanic and I've never heard of anything like that happening all at once but...it's only like $5 tops for injector cleaner and you gotta fill your tank up eventually, and it won't hurt to clean them out anyway.

Do search for "IAT sensor" here on the forum.

i could not find anything on this forum about the iat sensor. Should i try replacing it? It looks as if its easy enough to do. I can just pick up a used one and see if it helps. ?

Its my write up for the ecotec engine but the same principal goes for other cav engines. Its just the position of the intake piping that changes per engine.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=426511

the temperature of the air going into your engine shouldnt have anything to do with this so dont worry about your IAT sensor, also if it was bad your check engine light would be on

alright my friend had a similar problem with a camry.... he had a few problems... first off his car shook really bad, like it was manual as you say, and it died alot... his problem was there was water in the cylinders... truthfully sludgy water... it kept two or one cylinder from firing and made the car shake uncontrollably... we have no clue how the water got there... it was sitting in his garage for years.... but we cleaned out the water and replaced the spark plugs and the car stopped shaking and idling really jumbly... it sounded like a car again... hope this helps any, get back to me.

I'd have to have clarification on the exacty symptoms, specifically the behavior of the car at stops, whether the stop was complete, and its restarting ability (ie; did you try putting it in D after it tried to die, did that kill it, did 1st gear alone seem to fix it...), whether it fully died...

But, off the top of my head I'd say MAP sensor, and possibly, pending you clarify those questions, TCC Lockup (b/c of the year of the car and the transmission it used)