Don't forget the IAC
I have a friend with a Nissan Altima with the exact same problem. I had a 86 Subaru XT that my parents purchased new and I sold two years ago with original 15k miles and 3 motors replacement (not to mention the countless other problems that kept if off the road). Toyota, there's a money pit brand. And talk about the countless Honda's that I had to work on over the years, simply underbuilt junk. So I think we should boycott all those cheap a$$ Jap cars too while we are at it. Don't even get me started on Krappy Korean cars. Also, I had a German VW and had to replace the brake pads so there's a testament on how much junk they are. I've never heard of or had problems with cars made in Russia, Mexico, and England so they must be the good stuff. Really, the only good cars are made in Italy, but I bet your too cheap to buy one. I don't even know why I would help someone who lives in America, and has nothing buy negative things to say about his fellow American workers product, and won't even buy a car made here. Wonder why the economy sucks? Maybe I want to help because misinformation is what propagates problems and as well as your unnecessary American dissent. If you do something that doesn't fix it because that you don't know for sure what the problem is, or my car is impossible to drive because I am too cheap to get it fix by a professional or learn to do maintainence myself, then it must be because American cars suck. I think the problem is more that just some American's suck and that is the root of many of the problems with all these brands of cars. Don't get me wrong, there is some junk out there, but every company has some.
Anyways, If you can hold the gas down and the car will run ok, then my guess would be IAC-Idle Air Control. I don't know how old your car is, but this is kind of an item that may need replaced every 5-10 years, no matter who made your car. If you want to help out the fuel pump, fuel filter is should be change every other year, and I know it needs to be replace because nobody replaces it until problems arise. I don't know what the issue with the shifter is, but It can't be that hard of a fix. If your selector doesn't match the transmission gear, its probably just an adjustment. My Lincoln dealership adjusted my for free when I had the oil changed and tires rotated a couple years back. If they charge for it, I can't imagine it would be too much. If its a broken shifter, how expensive would it be to replace it. I have seen countless shifters on ebay for less than $50. That's my 2 cents, which I am sure I'll get a dollars worth of replies.
