I should have looked up the history to the 2000 Stratus before I bought it, I never would have. However, I did, and now I'm stuck with it.

Repairs I've made:
Brake Sensor Replaced (Napa Part)
Transmissionflush and service, (Dealer)
Replace transmission cylinder (Dealer)
Mass Air Floor Sensor replaced (Napa Part)
Oil Pressure Sensor replaced (Dealer Part)
Throttle body de-gunked. (Dealer)
Valve Cover Gaskets replaced (Dealer Part)
PCV Hose Replaced (Dealer Part)
New Spark Plugs (Napa Part)
Spark Plug Wires (Napa Part)
Ignition Coil replaced (Napa Part)

The vehicle still has occasional stutters. It will run fine, then all of a sudden feel like it's trying to go in reverse, the "misfire in cylinder one" code came up and was resolved with the new wires and coil. Now it doesn't fight as hard, but is manifest by an odd idle that acts like it's trying to die, and restricted power while trying to accelerate.

Again, this isn't all of the time, the symptoms occur at least once during any drive, but go away just as fast as they came.

I've spent $1,100.00 at the dealers and frankly, have lost faith. Every time I go, they tell me what is wrong, either they fix it or give me the parts to do so, and it is never fixed for more than 2 days.

I've run injector cleaner through 5 straight gas tanks, checked my spark plugs for burning issues, and kicked the tires many times. Nothing seems to work.

I grew up with a 68' ford truck, I've replaced about everything in it for fun and added what I want, I'm not mechanically retarded, but these electrical units have me baffled.

Any Advice?

 

Welcome to DF
My first guess would be either an o2 sensor or crank sensor. I'm going to move your post to the stratus section.

 

I've had a tech look at the live readings on the computer while the vehicle was running, unfortunately the vehicle wasn't acting up at the time, but he did get the opportunity to drive it and it acted up on him then...

Would he have noticed if these sensors were going bad while looking at the live readings?

 

Look for the wiring harness rubbing, particularly on the drivers' side rear corner of the head.

After it does the nose dive, what codes are setting?

 

No more codes have come up, and the check engine light also has remained dark.

I'll put the car on blocks this weekend and check all of the wiring I can get to.

There was some oil escaping through the gaskets that go around the spark plug cylinders, is there anything behind the motor that could have gotten affected?

I appreciate your assistance.

 

I have checked all of the wiring I can get to. Other than some worn harnesses (not all of the way through the sleeve) I can't find any real issues, I unplugged and replugged all I could get my hands on.

I checked for excess oil or any other kind of buildup and saw none of consequence.

I tell ya, this car is killing me...

 

Well I'm to the point of breaking, I'm setting up my finances, in a week or two I'm gonna give this to a dealer for $1500 (less than half the value as if it were working), and look elsewhere. I'm a truck guy, never owned a car until I got married, now with the second car a flop (first was a Chrysler) I'm up for something else... maybe a Ford, I try to buy American... I appreciate your help!

 

If this Dodge is truely haunted, perhaps "Christine" was reborn?

 

I'm not sure what you are referencing but I believe it is possible for Christine to be reborn...

For the record I don't truly believe the car to be haunted by minions of the other side, I just believe it was designed by a Chrysler Electrical Engineer.

I'm going to replace the camshaft sensor, and the EGR valve. The TSBs point to these components as potential issues... I figure that the issue is real enough, the answer must be the same.

Hey look at this cool picture!

 

Not sure if the oil could have affected any wires, but if it's leaking around the cylinder gaskets, pull your spark plugs and see if they are oil soaked, as that could cause the symptoms you are describing too! You'll need to pull the valve cover off and replace the gaskets, than replace your spark plugs. It'll run a little rough for a little while as it burns off the last of the oil that got into the cylinders. Worth checking, easy and cheap to fix.