forester2002s

in my experience, when these types of weirdness show up, 9 times out of 10 it is related to a grounding problem.

Ah yes, the Zen of Automotive Maintenance.

'Your item has shipped' I regularly get this notification from Amazon. What they really mean is that a shipping label has been printed, but that they have just discovered that their cupboard is actually bare and that they have no inventory. I feel your pain.

Nice bit of sleuthing! I'm impressed

+1 on the ignition switch being a possibility. It's easy enough to wiggle the key when the misfire occurs, to see if it makes a difference.

If two bulbs were wired in series, across a normal 12V supply, each bulb would only be getting 6V. These would be special bulbs. And if they were then converted to the usual parallel arrangement, each would see 12V and would immediately blow. Poof! Much more likely is that you have a grounding problem somewhere in the bulb harness.

I doubt that the original Subaru design was for 2 headlamps wired in series. That would be huge safety risk, since both headlights could fail simultaneously while the car is moving.

Vacuum leak in the intake? Air-filter cover not sitting tight?

Wikipedia has an online article about Subaru EJ engines. As usual with Wikipedia, completeness or accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

And why the UP arrow? Is it because the upper mounting-hole is round, but the lower hole is oblong, so not reversible? Perhaps UP is short for Unexplained Puzzle.

Subaru Head Gasket 11044AA642 Subaru Head Gasket 11044AA770

I don't know about your particular engine, but typically 4000 rev/min is about 'peak torque'. So you would see some better acceleration at that engine speed. With a manual transmission, 4000 rev/min is good for merging & passing on the highway.

Is there an audible component to the 'shimmy'? Like a 'rumbling' sound? If so, one of the wheel-bearings could be on the way out.

Check the spare-tire storage location under the rear cargo-area. On my 2002 Forester, the rear-end of the hose is under the roof-liner, near to the rear-hatch. Mine leaked near there years ago, but I wasn't immediately aware of the leak. The fluid was running down inside of the rear corner-post, and ended up in the spare-tire well.

Clear the P2096 code. Does it come back immediately? Or does it come back after the stalling problem? Or...?

Measure the voltage twice: - First, at the +ve battery-post - Then again at the starter-motor terminal (where the large wire is connected). There shouldn't be much of a voltage diffetence between these 2 readings.

Could be the crank-pulley being loose or coming apart, or the timing-belt tensioner being loose? Worth checking these out, if you haven't already.

Does your key-fob have fresh batteries? Is the key-fob OEM? or after-market?

How's the car's 12V battery? EDIT: Oh I see that you said that the battery is good.

Try a fresh fuse.

One of the features of snow tires, is that the rubber-compound is softer than on other tires. This gives snow tires better grip on icy surfaces. Do the 'fingernail test' on the rubber tread: stick your thumbnail into the face of the tread; compare different tires. However (there's always a 'however'), soft rubber wears faster than hard rubber. So good snow tires will wear out faster than regular tires.

Exhaust heat-shields rattling?

Viscosity is not crucial on a 1997: 5W30?, 10W30?, 10W40? Its not going to make much of a difference. If you're burning or leaking oil, go with the thicker grades Filter: Subaru OEM?, or Fram?, or Wix? etc. IMHO it really won't matter. WHAT IS IMPORTANT is to change the oil and filter frequently, more frequently than recommended. Keep that oil clean!

+1

Nipper: you are back! How nice to see your post. Over the many years that I've been on this forum, I have come to recognize the names of those posters who had something useful and relevant to say. And you are definately one of those people! So welcome back! COVID here in Western Canada hasn't been too severe, and by and large the population support our politicians and health care professionals. But I chose this weird time of self-isolating at home to have a heart-attack and open-heart surgery. Still in recovery in the hospital. We recently bought a new 2017 Forester 2.5 CVT, since my wife wasn't as enamoured with our old 2002 EJ2.5 5MT, which we also bought new (and which we still have). 2017 Forester: runs great, nice car. Lots of plastic, but these days plastic can be pretty strong. 'Eye-sight' works great, rear-camera, which I thought would be a gimmick, is indispensable. CANbus is a nuisance for me, as I like to delve into the 12V wiring system to make minor mods (eg windows won't open in ACC mode - very annoying). Radio and phone have to reboot each time the engine goes off - very annoying. Display has a rev-counter (unnecessary with the CVT) but no engine temp-gauge (what were the designers thinking?) And no cabin temp-gauge, only the temp-setting. Minor problems I suppose. And no dipstick for the CVT - yes really. But my wife loves the car, and it runs well. But my heart is with the 2002 EJ2.5, where I know every sensor by sight. But I'm an 'old-school' type of guy.