93 Thunderbird problem (it's just an out of shape Mustang, it's ok to help me!)

So I have a 93 T-bird, it's a 3.8. It has an unknown number of miles on it, so anything is possible.

Anyways, when I hit the gas to accelerate it just stumbles and and jerks really bad. It acts like its going to stall, but hasn't yet. It has been stalling when stopping occasionally. It is not reliable enough to be driven. But, if i put it in reverse it acts perfectly and accelerates with no problem.

So I'm trying to figure out what it is. I had a guy look at it and hook it up to the scan tool. There were no significant codes, just an ECT and canister purge failure. The fuel pressure was good, and I just replaced the fuel filter.

What could be wrong? Is it a transmission problem? The guy I talked to thinks it may be a fuel pump. We cleaned the MAF, since I've heard it can cause to Ford to act like this. I'm very confused as to why it is ok in reverse, but not drive. But, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
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ECT can definitely cause stumbling. It uses the ECT for telling the EEC how warm the engine is (not the temp sender for the gauge, that's a different sensor). The ECT will help the EEC determine whether to be in open or closed loop, how much timing advance to add, and how much to enrich the mixture based on temperature. Here's some good reading about the ECT and things to look out for. You absolutely want to look into the EEC code though, it could very well be the source of your stumbling issue.
 
I tried the ECT, it didn't fix it. So then I tried the EGR pressure sensor. Nothing.

So now, I was driving it with the radio on, and every time I accelerate and it stumbles, the radio shuts off. So now i'm thinking it's an electrical problem. It is very intermitten, but 90 percent of the time it does it under normal acceleration. Any ideas anybody?
 
Sounds like you have a loose connection somewhere or possibly even a loose ground wire jiggling around. Is the battery strapped down tight? Check all connections for play and even check on weatherpack type ones that the retaining pins aren't broken. A connector with a loose pin could be shifting back and forth, causing a wire to be pulling in and out of a connector.