Good news (I think). I went to remove the top part of the filter box to check the connected hose, and other hoses, for cracks that might be affecting the airflow and I found this in there under the filter! Not sure how the hell it got in ther but it sure as hell wasn't there when I replaced the motor mount, which requires removing this box as well. I removed... whatever that is and vacuumed the debris and put everything pack together. I then took it for a drive and not one hiccup the whole time. I drove it for hours earlier, for like 3 hours, and it jerked at takeoff almost evertime I accelerated from a stoplight. But after removing that wipe? itdrove great.

I scanned for codes before driving initially and here's a screenshot of the codes. I didn't get a chance but tomorrow I'll scan again after clearing the current ones and see if they pop back up. Also glad to say my transmission had had thrown codes *** well, before draining and refilling the fluid, and those codes are now gone. I went through hell with that task because I cracked the case using the wrong bolt for the fluid level check hole and had to figure out how to fix it without replacing the whole transmission. Unrelated but just a note.

i guess i wont be needing that vacuum guage after all. I'll keep it a few days just in case

Thanks

 

It was probably stuck to the bottom of the filter element.
The vacuum generated by the engine may have been pulling part of it to partially block the exit pipe of the air box.