cylinder 3 misfire code?

I pulled this code today along with multiple cylinder misfire or something like that from my '00 LSV8. It has a rough idle causing it to shut off after a little while and going uphill, it sputters. It even sputters on the highway sometimes. Is this the spark plugs, coils, valve cover gasket? or all 3? I absolutely love this car and want to fix this problem. The check engine light has not come on though. Other than that, everything on this car works perfect and is smooth as silk. Can anyone give me advice on how to go about fixing this without bringing it to a lincoln dealer and have them take all of my money. I have a friend whos a great mechanic and he thinks its the spark plugs. I bought 8 of them today and plan of putting them in this weekend. I just want to know if this is it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.



PS.

this is a dumb question but, for the license plate lights in the back, how do you change the bulbs? i have one of them thats out. Do you take out the clear piece alone, the whole ensemble with the black piece around it, or do it from inside the trunk. I just wanna make sure before i break something. Thanks Guys

also, if i do have to change the coils, do i have to do them all at once or can i just change the one that is being affected?

btw...
anyone know the firing order on a 00 lincoln ls v8? is it: 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8?

thanks

Before tackling the coils, plugs, and/or valve cover, you will want to inspect all vacuum lines and air intake hose connections, as well as the electrical connection to the Mass AirFlow (MAF) sensor. A problem with any of those could cause symptoms similar to what you describe as well.

If you don't find anything in the inspection, your problem may be all three items you mention -- plugs due to age (although they should be platinum tipped plugs), and coils due to leaking valve cover gaskets. Or, it may just be plugs, or just coils. If you find that the valve cover gaskets are leaking, you may as well replace the plugs while you're in there, and if you feel rich, the coils too. Likewise, if you find the coils are bad, you may as well drop in the new plugs at the same time.

Even though you don't have a check engine light, a good scan tool with the I/M Readiness mode should be able to tell you if it is detecting misfires on certain cylinders. The car will still be monitoring misfire events, even if the counts don't reach sufficient numbers to set a diagnostic trouble code. The three coils that have gone out on my car have all failed in this way, no CEL but I was able to determine which coil was failing using my OTC Genisys scan tool. Each time I replaced only the coil that was faulty at the time.

As for the license plate bulbs:

License Plate Lamp

Removal and Installation
If necessary, remove the license plate.
Remove the pin-type retainers and the luggage compartment lid trim panel.
Disconnect the license plate lamp electrical connector.
Remove the lamp socket from the license plate lamp.
Using a suitable tool, through the access hole, release the clips and remove the license plate lamp.
To install, reverse the removal procedure.-Rod

btw...
anyone know the firing order on a 00 lincoln ls v8? is it: 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8?

thanks

Per the service manual,
Firing order 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8

Thanks a lot. I will let you know how it went. I just got this car and oh my god what a ride. i love it already. i hope this fixes my problems so i can fully enjoy the car.