On symptom I noticed prior to this happening was an RPM "surge" around 1.500. if I revved the engine to any level and released the gas pedal, it seemed to decrease in RPM's only to slight surge back to 1,500 RPM's then down to idle (very strange!).
I have a OBDC reader and it pulled P0340, Cam Position Sensor. Part was $38 at store and frankly it was rediculuously easy to get to on the 2002. After re-assemblying everything, the car did not start... yikes... but I tried again and it came to life. I suppose the ECM didn't recognize what the new CMP was tellign it?? The car still idled rough and seeme dto surge to 1,500 RPM (rats) but then I re-checked the ODB and found the ECM held an old P0340 code. So I cleared it and frankly I'm shokced how nice everything is running now! Seemed to actually clear up some other minor lingering issues like a slight vibration at 1,500 RPM's, and a slight hesitation when removing my foot from the accelerator; now it slows down nice and smooth.
The new part went in super fast except for the horrible wire harness. i couldn't figure that one out for about an hour! just had to remove the top air intake guard and the CMP was right in front (one bolt).
I have found this forum to be so helpful that I thought I'd post my experience in case it helps someone else.
