In a message dated 96-10-11 20:11:09 EDT, you write:

<< Does anyone think that a bad ignition coil
 could have caused my Vanagon to die in the way I have been describing the
 past week? >>
It sounds like the mech hit it.I have seen bad coils which get hot and
fail...There is a tech bulletin on it.I had a MBZ 280S w/ a bad coil that
drove me nuts(it was a carb car so it was a simple diagnosis)and it was hard
to track it down.Good luck hope you stay running for a while.

Ed