Surging then died

I noticed a surging of the engine when the coming to a stop, before pushing in the clutch. On the way home, slowing from 55mph, in 5th gear I suddenly felt a loss of power. RPM's were fine but heard a slight "rattle" in the engine. I limped home, looked under the hood for an easy fix, found nothing. Started the car up and heard the noise again, drove it around the block and the car died, RMP's slowly dropped. Took several tries but it restarted and got it back in the garage on a hope and a prayer (and never letting the RPM's drop below 2000).

Any ideas???

I'll be trying the fuel filter, plugs and the basics hoping that helps but looking for any suggestions. Also noted a drop in voltage (the lights dimmed) on rare occasions when going over 5000 RPM's doubt it's related, but you never know.

Thanks!!!

One more thing, check engine light never came on.