Here's the skinny:
I bought a bought a 1995 Altima about a month ago with 180,000 miles and a few issues, thinking that it would be a straightforward fix. Apparently I was mistaken. The engine starts, idles, runs, and revvs perfectly (except for the ubiquitous timing chain clicking) when it's parked with the A/C off, but when I give it any load, such as climbing a hill, accelerating (even gently), or just goosing the throttle while parked with the A/C on, it stutters, loses power, and usually dies if I don't let off quickly. It seems as though it's running lean, but I'm at my wit's end as to why.

I'm not getting persistent error codes. (I've gotten several, especially knock sensor, #1 misfire, and random misfire, but they don't consistently come back after resetting)

I have replaced (in order, if that matters to anyone): Spark plug wires, plugs (Bosch platinum +4), valve cover seals (they were leaking), front 02 sensor, exhaust manifold gaskets, ECM, knock sensor, MAF sensor, fuel filter.

I've also listened for the infamous intake manifold leak, but haven't heard anything, and spraying starter fluid all over the place doesn't make it revv.

The inside of the distributor is as clean as a whistle.
Compression is reasonable, with 150-160 psi across the board.
Timing looks good.
Spark looks decent, although I've seen stronger. I temporarily wired in a monstrous old ford ignition coil, which gave a nice, juicy spark, but didn't make it run any better.
Unhooking the EGR system from the vacuum line doesn't change anything.
Injector pattern & flow rate look good, but that's just based on spraying them up in the air.
Fuel pressure @ injector rail is at spec.
The output from the TPS & water temp sensor are also within spec.
No apparent vacuum line leaks.

I've seen others on the net with similar issues, but if they ever found a solution, they didn't get around to sharing it with the world. Has anyone here seen this before? Any good ideas? (Or even bad ones?) I've been wracking my brain over this one for weeks, and am quickly running out of brain cells.

are those the plugs that have the four prongs. if so id advise getting new plugs. either the cheapest aftermarkt or go to Nissan and get NKG. there not that exspencive but will hold up and perform much better. the altima was not desind to run on platnum plugs, and those bosh just burn out fast. check them in 300mil. and youll see what im talking about. Have you checkd #4 to make sure theres spark. And how does it idel. is it smooth or does the tac jump up and down. somtimes you cant spray fluid under the intake to find the leaks on the bottom ( happened to mine, and found two when tore it down)

this also seems to be my problem. but as with the other post, there is no resolution listed. my car ran great two weeks ago. started every time and pulled like a tractor. now it stutters and dies. what to do?

so it was the distributor!!! free replacement at autozone. the cheapo replacement only lasted 4 years, so you may want to get an oem rebuild as suggested by 3qjay in his numerous posts. so this one has a happy ending, car running great. jeff