Ok - So it has been in this new shop (another VW/audi/porsche specific non-dealear shop like the previous) since last Thursday - and they have "found the problem".
They don't think it has anything to do w/ the head. I had asked them to do a leak down test and compression test but they said that they didn't do those because the symptoms did not act like it was an engine/ head problem. They said the car is firing on all cylinders and is solid. There may be a compression leak but it would not cause this problem. All in all the engine fires and runs pretty well.
So what they did find is that the wiring harness that lead from the battery to the ecu and other components (including throttle body) had gotten sorta wedged underneath the tranny and the coating had totally rubbed away and wires were exposed - touching each other and the metal on the tranny as well.
They said that when they had the car on and touched the wires to the tranny or each other the car would stall out. Doing this it would not go into the kicking problem - but they could replicate the kicking problem when driving. They said one of the wires exposed was going to the throttle body (But now that I think about it - I have a drive by cable so does it need electricity?)
So they are fixing the wires up and getting it back to me today. So I'll see if this was it - he is confident this is the problem. I'm just so pessimistic about all of this at this point I just don't really believe him- but I'll see. It took them quite a while to find this - so the labor fee is high, but I expected that.
Anyway - just thought I would update. It doesn't make sense to me that if this was the problem why it would take a bit of driving for it to act up - although while initially it was about 45 mins it now does it almost immediately - so maybe it was just getting worse. Also this does sorta make sense as to why it would be worse when making a right hand turn - it would hit the tranny in that case and start shorting out.
So - sound believable?
Thanks,
-Pete