Thanks folks for the advice already coming through,
    As I sat eating dinner, I thought of one thing that I left out that might
be another clue to the puzzle. Then Zoltan also asked about it. When I took
the van to a retired Volkswagen friend, he adjusted a few things. One being
the idle speed adjusting screw.Through the archives, someone had suggested
turning the idle screw in to cut the idle surging out/down. When I tried that
earlier today, I found that the idle screw was already screwed in all the
way. I can only back it out.
    Could the idle speed adjusting screw/throttle valve housing be my
problem?  Is a 1.9 throttle housing interchangeable with a diesel or a 2.1L ?
 Is the AFM on a 1.9L interchangeable with a diesel or a 2.1L?
    Thanks once again,
    Doug