howdy to all. about myself, i am a good person who does not always pay attention to my needs as well as others, i consider myself a social change organiser with thirty years service to the development of ecologically conscious economic structures and systems for marignalised mainly rural communities. i need my vx to run well as a tool to pursue these goals.

this being said, here is a basic description of my problems: 92 honda vx federal, stock, 5spd 206k, purchased at 201k in may, used, out of denver; new oem ngk 5 wire laf ("o2") sensor, replaced map sensor, which got rid of cels for both (3, 48? obd-1) new after market (o'reilly) main relay, new fuel pump, new tank strainer, fire wall filter, new ngk plugs gapped properly, new ngk wires, no apparent vacuum leaks, using non ethanol fuel, oil needs changed soon. car developed hard starting problem last fall, sometimes takes up to 20-30 tries before firing up, once running will idle normally, slight fluctuation of rpm when lights/signals/wipers/fan turned on/off, mostly after up to temp, but sometimes before, will randomly shut off while idling, usually will start back up, but not always. mpg down around 35-44, when at highway speeds while on flats will run decently, but when in hills will sometimes randomly lose power,forcing me to break down lane, will almost roll to a stop then fire up again. car will also just randomly die when stopping at lights or sometimes when turning. also, when car is shut off, or dies, it will sometimes produce weird wheezing sound, which is internal, as it also will slip on alternator belt a bit when starting cold.

purchased proper cat from rockauto, but not installed yet, took in to muffler shop ran flow test both sides of second cat, good flow. have now also purchased a new distributor off of ebay, also yet to be installed, hoping that will fix the problem. have read forums extensively, tps/egr/eacv/iacv and timing have all been mentioned in various threads as well as the ignition switch. we are in the middle of an unusually cold and snowy winter here in ne oklahoma, preventing me from doing much work on the car, i am in a crisis situation where i have lost my home and preoccupied in moving. driven 1983-84 2wd subaru gl since 1990 100k's of miles and have never had to have mech work, always done it all myself, but this p07 d15z1 has me stumped, had bad experience taking to local shade tree mech who immediately diagnosed as fuel pump and charged me almost $300 to replace without fixing the basic problem. old friends who run import shop will spend an hour troubleshooting for $65,and there are two other mechs offering to help but no one has experience with lean burn vx. my car's symptoms are very similar to certain experiences of other vx owners posted elsewhere, i am frustrated as a lot of the threads never solve or provide an answer. i will be glad to follow instructions on troubleshooting, have patience as it may take me time to perform the tests. i am really hoping replacing the distributor will provide the cure, i have already spent way more on parts than i would have saved in gas in the next year. thanks for any help!