check throttle position sensor with a voltmeter on the "signal" or "data" wire. since the other two wires are +5v and ground respectively, it's pretty easy to figure out which one of the 3 is the signal wire. turn key on, but don't start vehicle, & measure voltage on the data wire. while watching meter, slowly rotate the throttle from closed to open. voltage should change slowly & steadily. if at any point while rotating it spikes or otherwise fluctuates, then just as quickly returns to smooth operation, or you get no voltage change at all, the TPS is bad. takes 5 minutes to test, & about 2 to replace if it's bad. TPS's wear out more rapidly than most people realize - all they are is a potentiometer.... like the old volume knobs on a stereo. they have brushes inside that slide across a graphite back, & will wear out & cause intermittent readings - making the ecm think the pedal is somewhere other than where it actually is, causing all kinds of problems. on cars without a throttle position sensor, you would be checking the mass airflow sensor, since it has a mechanism that is nearly identical to track movement, and will cause all the same problems.