These cars, if well maintained, are superb. Think of it as a really sexy Neon.

How long since you replaced the plug wires? Common symptoms of wire age is a loss of power (misfire/stutter/bogging) above ~50% throttle input under load. If it's been a while, consider picking up a set of the Bosch wires from Autozone. $45 or so and lifetime warranty, so you just take them in and swap 'em out when they go bad again.

As for target idle and the car not wanting to start when cold, I wonder if the coolant temp sensor might be to blame. Usually, this presents problems starting when it's hot outside, as the sensor typically fails by telling the ECU it's -235* or so in the engine bay, but it could be both ways. Of the two sensors under the radiator cap, it is the one with the larger connector. The other, single pin connector is for the gauge in the cluster.

Finally, have you ever had the lower ball joint recall performed by the local dealership? If not, look into it. It's a long shot, but perhaps the ball joint is on its way out and causing things to load up out of sync. Can't say I've ever heard of something like that. Should you decide you need to replace the front hubs, drop me a PM. I've got a set taking up space that I never ended up needing. $50+ shipping and they're yours.

Welcome to the board, though. We're glad you found us. I'd suggest giving the search a try, but consider searching by thread title when you do. It's a bit easier to find what you need that way.

Cheers.