MikeB

It was running fine, until one day I leave work to go on my lunch break, and the car won't even turn over. So I pop the hood and discover the cable connecting the battery to the engine is severed at the base.

I get it all back in place, and sure enough the car starts fine, but guess what - the engine is "sputtering", like it's on the cusp of idling, and the "check engine" light is on. I decide to drive it to the mechanic, and on the way I realize the car is accelerating so slow from 0-30 that it's literally a hazard to drive. Once I get it past 30 it handles fine. By the time I get to the mechanic, I realize the car wreaks of carbon monoxide, and I'm almost literally sick. It turns out the mechanic is closed, so I end up just driving back to work, and notice the car is kind of wavering in power, as if it's getting gas - then not getting gas - then getting gas again, over and over, it's almost like being on the ocean, lurching.

Does that sound like a fuel filter issue? It just strikes me as weird that this engine problem would "suddenly occur" at the same time the battery was disconnected.