Strange problem with 97 Dodge MinVan 3.0 V6. A real head scratcher

My son , who lives out of state called me and told me about this
strange problem with a 97 Dodge MinVan. Been a real good vehicle up to
now at 180,000.  After it gets warmed up it starts missing and shuts
down completely. As this is happening the interior dome light comes on
and starts flashing.....the windshield washer and wipers also come on
and neither will quit no matter what is done until the battery cable
is removed. When it quits it acts like a bad coil will do after
heating up , but he has replaced this , new plugs simply because it
was time for them  and new distibutor cap and rotor. Also replaced the
plug wires .
He can't get it anywhere to get a computer diag because it won't won't
run but a few blocks.It quits after about two-three minutes driving ,
when it gets up to temp , or about five minutes idling. It will not
start again until it cools for 30-40 minutes.
When trying to flash the code the only thing that comes up is "battery
has been disconnected recently".
I hope one of you can shed some light on this. Sure would appreciate
any help I can get.

Thank you very much

Ken