ok im in iraq but my brother is having a problem with his 95 escort wagon ... 5 speed woo. he was driving home and all of the sudden it lost all its power. it would drop down almost to stalling but right before it stalled would get all its power back and rev back up. this is while driving mind you. i suggested it may be the fuel pump. any ideas?

Sounds like it could be something loose in the ignition. I would have him start with checking all the spark plug wires, etc. have him look at every wire connection he car see under the hood. could also be a loose battery terminal.

After checking electrical, have him bang on the cat and see if it's not rattling, just to make sure the honeycomb hasn't collapsed and is plugging the exhaust.

It would be hard to diag w/o actually knowing what ignition it has and what's been replaced... fuel pump does sound like a poss... I've had ignition probs cause this as well.

i know he did a tune up about 6 months ago replaced the cap, rotor, plugs, and wires. ill tell him to check for loose connections

Ahhh. That's a bit more info. I wonder if the distributor has drifted... If he forgot to tighten it down.

how would that make it lose power then suddenly rev back up

I guess I missed the revving back up... Unless it's turning or trying to adjust timing. Does it have vacuum lines?

i think so

It does have vacuum lines. Have him get some carb cleaner and spray it around the motor while it is running. Have him wiggle vacuum lines as he is spraying. If the idle changes when he sprays a spot then he has a vacuum leak there.

Yep... Those vacuum lines suck... Sometimes they crack right where they fasten to the connector. He may want to try pulling them off one at a time. Usually there will be no change in performance noted if it's a leaking line.