Car runs great at anything over 1000rpm, no sputtering, plenty of power, no indications of an issue. also runs smooth at idle when its not acting up, then will almost seemingly at random just shut off while in gear. will restart instantly with no problem.
It was running great, then I took it on 80mile drive and when I was almost home I noticed it was having trouble climbing hills while in cruse. the next day I went to leave for work and it ran fine then about 1 min in it died at a stop and refused to start, I checked about and the distributor was very loose, so as I had someone crank the car I turned it slowly until it started. other than that the only thing I noticed was the wire going to my tach had touched the manifold so I moved and secured that and fixed the bad spot, tach still works. though it does read around 200rpm less than the ECM reports to scanner.

Also noticed that my CTS never registers anything over 153* yet my gauge(aftermarket in drivers head) reads 220* and the fan switch I installed in the pass head also agrees. Has 5v to the connector and I ohm tested the new one prior to install.

What I have done so far is,
1. checked and set timing @10btc with EST disconnected then reset ECM.
2. checked ignition module
3. checked pickup coil 950ohms while warm
3. checked plugs, all were dark around threads, light brown on insulator and medium on the tang, with no signs of damage, all were gapped ok at .040~.050. reset all to .045.
4. checked compression all at around 140ish.
5. checked fuel pressure, it runs at 37 at idle and 47 at load, does drop then recover when I flick the throttle. have observed the stall with the gauge on but the fuel pressure never changes. It does bleed off almost instantly with the car shut off, used to do it no mater which line I pinched off inlet or outlet.
6. Plugged off cold start injector with 12x1.25 drain plug now it will hold pressure if I pinch off the inlet line after prime.
7. checked vacuum and it flickers around 16 or 17, gets more stable around 17 if I plug off the evap system but It has always done that and never stalled.
8. set TPS to .53v(tried for .54v but I could not get it there) whilst it is running via my scan tool, now it only dies whilst in gear. it was at .57v running.
9. can unhook any vacuum line with car out of gear and it will run rough but will not stall and the IAC adjusts and catches it quickly.
10. hooked the car up to my Scan tool and it only throws a code 32.
11. new exhaust manifold gaskets and y-pipe gaskets.

It never shows any issues on the live or the freeze frame recording, after sealing up all the exhaust leaks north of the O2 that runs at around 400-500mv, blip the throttle and it will spike higher then drop to lean and stabilize.

MAF reads 1000-2000gr/s at idle and 9000-11000 cruising on the highway.

I have noticed that on some of my older recordings it will at times flick in and out if closed even with the engine showing good readings.

any help would be awesome.

There are separate sensors for the fan , gauge , and ECM . It sounds as if your sensor for the ECM is bad if it's always seeing the engine at 153 degrees when you know it's really up to proper operating temperature . The ECM's coolant temp sensor is screwed into the front of the intake manifold and is the smaller of the two that you'll find in that area (the larger one will be for the cold start injector) .

It will go higher but only if the car has set at idle for a bit after a long hard run it will creep up to like 168*, or if I shut the car off it will slowly increase up. but never anywhere near what the gauge indicates.

I drove it 20 miles today and while I was doing some work on the rear end I noticed a hissing noise that was coming from the breather thing under the car that goes to the gas tank, Im thinking that my evap system is not working? I checked the switch and diverter thing and there is always vacuum through the solenoid. but when i block it all off at the main vac line there is no difference in idle performance.

I went through and shook all the connectors I could find, It didn't seem to affect anything but when I got home I let it idle in gear and it did so at a perfectly smooth 600rpm for like 6 minutes and then with no warning it just shut off, but it restarts with no problems.

Gonna change the coil as possibly the grounded wire damaged it, gonna do new wires, and cap, change the fuel filter, run some injector cleaner. mostly just misc maintenance stuff.

*Edit* It is quite frustrating to try to diagnose with my Scan tool as when ever it is plugged in the car wont idle lower than 950, but it does that flawlessly.

Woot! Got the car fixed, was the harmonic balancer. The outer ring that has the timing marks had slipped, make the timing 20* or so degrees advanced from what it was set at so i was running at least 30* total advance. Now it idles smooth as silk under load or in park.
Sucks though as i now have around $700 in parts in the car to fix a $40 problem.

Ignition module $50
Coil$50
Wires $50
Cap/rotor $20
Intake air temp sensor $20
Idle air control $50
Coolant temp sensor $20
Fuel pump/strainer/filter $75

And due to damage while replacing fuel pump, exhaust $318

And finally the culprit
Harmonic balancer $40

But it runs sooooo good im not complaining.

I do notice a loss in power off the line but runs down the road at 75-80 is with no struggle so I might try running just a bit more timing to see if that helps, I figure it has been so absurdly far advanced that just a bit over like 12* can't be any worse.