Originally posted by Big Jim:

When the VSS acts up, you will also loose the speedometer .




That is precisely what happened last night. So it is most likely the vehicle speed sensor. What kind of costs (parts + labor) am I looking at if, indeed, the VSS is malfunctioning/damage? Thanks a lot for the valuable insight/diagnosis.

'98 Contour SE 2.5 w/ Granny Tranny + stuff = still slow