93 pathfinder engine help

[burt.gummer]

I need a bit of help repairing my pathfinder. I'm having some trouble and it has me stumped; any help is appreciated.

I was returning home from a job interview, climbing a hill at wide open throttle when I heard a single popping noise. Sounded like a Ballon popped in my engine bay. All power cut out, almost as though the engine had died for about two seconds, then returned at full strength. When I crested the hill and let up on the throttle, it started bucking. Like the engine was stumbling or surging. At full throttle and idle it seemed fine, but at partial throttle it ran rough. I managed to limp it home. The next morning I gave it a look over and could find no signs of fault. Upon starting the engine I discovered grey smoke and a strong odor of gasoline emminating from the tail pipe. Idle was strong and smooth. Transition from high idle to low idle was normal and made no impact on the smoke or smell. When revving the engine it ran rough, choked and tried to die. Only by tapping the throttle was able to rev the engine up past 1500 rpm.

I can find no sign of vaccuum leak, there are no fluid leaks. No loose wires or unplugged connectors I can find. Any ideas?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Is the Check engine light on? Usually for something that drastic, it would show up.

Check the intake tube for cracks and splits too. If everything looks good, might be time to do a compression check.