Hate to resurrect this thread once again but I wanted others to possibly get use of it. I finally broke down and took the car in and explained everything I did to "try" and show I was no dummy and it might very well be the Cat. He scared cheap-o me by saying it could also be the MAP sensor. Anyhow, upon letting him know of the 8yr/80k mile warranty on the Cats., (thanks for the info. didn't have the manual as I bought the car used so I couldn't verify it) which he had to verify cause he thought it was 3yr/36k miles, he took it in. Well, after a few days, he let me know the Cats were not clogged but were not working as intended. Ford will pick up the tab and I should have a new Cat. installed by today (1 wk later). Thanks for all the info. and hope this helps someone else out there.

V6 SE Contour with all the goodies, Halo Plugs, Direct Hits, Resonator removed.

1972 Ford Classic Bronco, Heavily Modified