A thousand, thousand thanks go out to jmg8550 for taking the time to speak with me about the intricacies of this issue, the possible things that could be wrong, and many options to rectify the problems...and in such a way that I could follow and understand. You are a wealth of knowledge, and I hope they pay you well and appreciate you at your job!

Here is what happened:

I went to O'Reilly's and picked up a can of CRC MAF cleaner, an air filter and a package of various-sized star bits because Nissan uses those instead of regular sockets. Bastards.

I used one to start to loosen the bolt, and promptly dropped the damn bit into the engine somewhere.

Let me take a moment to rant: who the hell decided to make those bits BLACK? The rest of the engine is shades of gray and black and dirt- how the hell are you supposed to find a bit if it should drop into the engine? What's wrong with making it blaze orange? AND, by the way, would it be so hard to magnetize the bits, so they remained on the socket wrench to begin with? I've got enough things to worry about without having to add the perils of gravity to the mix. Criminy.

So, of course couldn't find it. I looked under the car, but it was not in there. I used 3 different flashlights and tried to spot it from the top of the engine. No luck. Dammit.

So I used another bit that didn't fit AS nicely, and it still worked. I didn't pull out the entire sensor because that would have entailed removing more stuff than I felt comfortable with, but I pulled out the sensor (CAREFULLY). The sensor has a wire assembly harness attached to it that just would not come off. It has a little lever thing that I pushed and (CAREFULLY) pulled and did everything I could think of, and it just would not come off. I tried to find a Youtube video for it, but all I came across was some idiot explaining about the wire harness and then he let his camera drift to look at the underside of his hood while he removed the wire assembly. After reading the instructions on the can of cleaner, I decided that I would be incredibly conscious of where I was spraying, and avoid getting any of the wires wet. Because the wire assembly was still attached, I laid several layers of newspaper down, and pulled a paper bag over the sensor. I put on latex gloves, and proceeded to spray all sides of the sensor a couple of times. It didn't look exactly like what the Youtube video showed, but it was close enough and I could see the guck on the metal bits. The paper absorbed the cleaner and dirt. I then set fresh paper down and let the sensor sit on that until it was dry.

I put the sensor back in place, took the star bit and began screwing the bolt back into place...and dropped that bit into the engine as well.

After a good lo swearing session, followed by a long hunt for either one of them, I decided they'd fall out when they were ready and not one moment before.

I proceeded to use the star bit that hardly fit at all, but still worked...and got it back together. I also changed the air filter.

The car started up, and then stalled out. After a second start, it purred like a kitten and drove as it should. We took it around the neighborhood and it did fine!

Thank you, car guys, for sharing your knowledge. I realize this may not be a big deal for you, but for someone that knows how to check the fluids and that's about it, this was enormous.

I just hope those stupid bits fall out soon. Preferably in the driveway so we have a complete set again.