Dear 9Shenandoah,
Good p.m. and hope this finds you well. Have you checked the exhaust pipes, to make sure they're not obstructed? When the car's running, is there plenty of pressure at the end of the exhaust pipe?
If not, material from the failed catalytic converter may have partly plugged the pipe. If that's the case, the engine simply won't work properly.
If you don't own one, try to borrow an electrician's fish-tape. It is made of spring steel, is very flexible (will bend around the turns in the cross-over pipe), and is very strong! You can by a 50' model at a Home Depot/Lowe's for under $20. That will be plenty long enough to probe the pipe.
The fish tape will tell you if there's a blockage, and may even enable you to punch a hole through the blockage. My guess is that any blockage will be at the turns in the cross-over.
It might also be helpful to re-set the engine control computer. Turn off the ignition. Remove the negative battery cable clamp from the terminal. Wait 15 minutes. Replace the negative battery cable clamp on the terminal, and tighten.
Hope some of this helps.
Yours faithfully,
spook
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