thanks for that link. and see, that's the base problem: you can't isolate it to any one thing. if i could say for sure that it was the VCT solonoid and that after replacing it, the problem would not reproduce, i'd be willing to drop the $600+ labor. but since i've got the higher milage (124k), that would be half of the car's value. i love my car, but not sure at what point "enough" comes.
and yes, hesitations should be a sub-board.
