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Having been a Subaru Tech ( still call myself a mechanic ) for many years and leaving there in 2015. We Remember the Failures and Bad things, Not all those who had no problems. So here are my observations ..... first 2 years of each FB engine had it's issues. From the 2.5L 2011/12 Forester leaks, oil consumption, noisey chains ( TSB for that ) and failing to fill the gas tanks. The 2012/13 2.0L Impreza, 2013 XV/Crosstrek added valve springs but quieted the noisy chains and fewer front engine oil leaks. fewer here came in for oil consumption, but the issue was still there. Finally the 2.5L 2013 Legacy/Outback, mostly here for Oil consumption. I would have liked to report it was solved by now, but my experiences it was not completely. Now I left in 2015, so the 2014/2015 years may have been too new to show any chronic issues, But these are my observations. And owning a 2014 Impreza now with 150K and a 2016 Forester with 100K, we have not seen the issues of the earlier productions. My $.02 ......

I believe that engine should be speed density (MAP sensor, no MAF), and therefore shouldn't be that sensitive to leaks before the throttle body. IAC is built into the throttle body, no separate hose for that. What did you disconnect/remove to access the plugs? I generally remove the washer reservoir on the LH side, and airbox on the RH. The throttle cables (main and cruise) run right over the plugs on the LH side, you sure you didn't shove them out of the way and they got hung up somewhere? Any trouble codes? Confirmed, or pending? What does the TPS signal and coolant temp look like? How did the knock sensor wire get damaged? Was there something tugging/chafing on it? The coolant temp sensor is in that area, too... The symptoms kind of sound like a sticking IAC valve. Although I don't think I've ever heard of that on these before. And the timing would have to have been a complete coincidence, which is unlikely.+ I do agree that Iridium is not ideal for your car, but shouldn't cause any problems.

FB engines got the timing chain. 2011 in the Forester, 2012 Impreza, and 2013 Leg/OBK. And it was those early ones that had the class-action lawsuit leading to extended warranty coverage to get a new shortblock. I believe the lawsuit covered through MY 2015, but many newer than that were getting warranty shortblocks for the same reason. The Foresters did not have an oil level sensor/indicator. So if the owners did not check their oil (maybe I won't if I ever have a new car, too...), the first indication was low oil pressure warning light, at which point, it's really too late. So it's not uncommon to see Foresters with blown engines. The others did have a low oil level warning light, which helped, considerably. My mom's 2012 Impreza is knocking on the door of 200k miles, with the original engine. She has to add about 1-1.5 quarts between changes. Hers is a salvage, so was not eligible for the extended warranty, but I don't think the consumption would have been enough to get a free engine, anyway.

Glad they got it done, too bad on alignment but at least that's a little more straight forward and should go smoothly minus the time, schedule, waiting, etc. Torch - that nut comes off in 15 seconds. It wasn't a Subaru part so couldn't retain alignment anyway, that was your choice. Aftermarket dimensions can vary and can't be expected to retain alignment. Imdew and myself both described how it's done before the car went to the shop. Take them a Subaru part and explain to them what we told you or just read/show them the very easy/normal/typical directions we wrote. They'd be glad to learn a new skill. We try to help.... If the shop doesn't know how to retain alignment on a tie rod swap then you may want to avoid them for future suspension work (and more). If they don't have a torch and can't retain alignment they sound very limited for a northeast subaru shop.

i did 98 Forester struts on a 95 Legacy and had 0 problems with it.. Drove it that way for several years. the trailing arm thing is strictly cosmetic, there are no problems by not doing it (i didn't)