Yes, that's right, by "jump" I meant "surge".  This happens
while traveling at highway speeds, at about 4500 RPM - not
at idle.  (At idle the engine just sputters and dies.)
The effect for passengers is as if I were continually
slightly pressing and releasing the accelerator, tapping
my foot to some strange music only I can hear, and causing
their heads to bobble back and forth.  (This is, of course,
NOT the cause; when I hear the strange music, I try not
to tap my foot.)

                                               -Steven

>  Date:        99-01-27 12:18:52 EST
>  From:        KBatzler@EMAIL.MSN.COM (Karl Batzler)
>
>  I think I understood "jumping" as surging.  Hope I'm right :>)
>  Karl Batzler
>
>  > From: EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET>
>  > Date: Wednesday, January 27, 1999 4:24 AM
>  >
>  >     "Jumping" ? do you mean idle?
>  >
>  >            Eric                   86-VW4x4
>  >
>  >On Tue, 26 Jan 1999, Karl Batzler wrote:
>  >
>  >> I would personally suggest replacing the O2 sensor first.  If this
doesn't
>  >> do the trick, try the AFM capacitor fix.  If you need directions, I'll
>  >> p-mail them to you.
>  >> Karl Batzler
>  >>
>  >> -----Original Message-----
>  >> From: S Sittservl <Ssittservl@AOL.COM>
>  >> Date: Tuesday, January 26, 1999 4:15 PM
>  >>
>  >> >...
>  >> >When I've run the van at highway speeds (70 MPH) for a few hours,
>  >> >the engine begins to drop around 300 RPM every once in a while,
>  >> >causing the van to slow abruptly.  After about 1 to 5 seconds,
>  >> >the engine returns to its normal speed (and the van jumps ahead).
>  >> >Occurances are anywhere from a couple of seconds to a few minutes
>  >> >apart. ...