Good afternoon all, I'm having some problems and would appreciate the wisdom of anyone smarter than I on the subject!
My issues:

1) While in Drive (not Neutral or Park), mostly only while sitting still, the throttle fluctuates - RPM intermittently goes from 750 (normal) to 500. While moving it chugs sometimes. This has been happening for about a week.

2) Building on #1 above, while accelerating, it chugs, and in & around the transition between gears 2&3 or 3&4 (my guesstimate), the Temp, RPM, and Spedometer all PEG OUT at max, sit for <1 second, then all go to ZERO for about the same time, then return to normal. The whole ordeal takes about 1-1.5 seconds. This has been happening for 24 hours so far.

3) Upon turning the car, about 30 seconds into it, I get 3 sets of 5 beeps. The pitch is higher than that of the seat belt warning. Could it be related to an air bag warning? Been happening for 2 months, the guys at the local shop (the head mechanic owned a 2003 Tribute also) have no idea.

Thanks everyone.

 

Sounds like a loose electrical connection. I'd suggest check besides battery connection, alternator, and all connections that you can see under the hood. With that, the connections under the hood, I'd recommend electrical contact cleaner.