[markjs]

Oh and to further complicate? It is the California model....

OK, well I think I have ruled out the MAF sensor. As I said I have never gotten a "check engine" until I disconnected it and tried to run it and that made no difference to my issue. I am not sure if I will get any trouble codes if there never was a check engine light, but I disconnected the battery so that it would clear the codes. Then when I drive it to my friend's he can get the truest reading.

I have further refined my understanding of the symptoms though. I went to a very steep hill (which is where I first noticed that this was a real problem), and I tried to go up it. For a LONG time I could not get up to 10MPH, but just as it got above 10MPH it started to gain power, and at 15 it could actually accelerate slowly up the hill, and the faster I got the more power I had, though I ran out of hill. It seems to me that the only real problem area is on takeoff. If I get a running start at a hill it doesn't seem to be an issue.

Any power loss at normal running conditions is largely theoretical. I think there may be a little power loss but it's not signifigant enough for me to be sure, since I haven't even owned the car a year, and if there is power loss at high speed it isn't a huge difference. I do know that it did not have this problem on steep hills when I got it, or if it did, it has gotten radically worse. I am REALLY DESPARATE here, I am poor, live in a VERY hilly state, and even though gas prices are way down this car should get better than it's current 20MPG. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!