lmdew

Subaru parts. www.car-part.com may help you find one.

Yes to the above!

If it runs fine, do the seals valve cover, cam & crank, timing belt and oil pump reseal and call it a day. No need to rebuild. If it isn't broken don't fix it. IMHO. Great engines 300K+ miles and still going strong.

Well, I've been off island for a month for work. Yesterday, with the cruise on, RPM dropped for a second two and then came back right away. This happened 2x in 15 minutes. I was down to a 1/4 tank, so I filled up. Well with a full tank it happened again. It died completely but started right back up after shifting into N. No CEL light or codes. I poked around in the engine bay today, moving wires... Nothing I could see. I'm sure it will run great again.

www.car-part.com good source of original used Subaru parts. Don't get an aftermarket alt.

Self-serve yard and pull one. Pretty cheap! Go in and drill the bolts out. Put in standard bolts when you bolt it in.

Coolant Temperature Sensor been changed?

Frame shop? I've had pretty good luck with a winch. You have to strap the car to a tree or something secure so it does not move as the brakes are not enough. Hook to the old bumper support before you remove it and see what you can get. The problem is all the sheetmetal that is moved in is not hooked to the support. Another option is to cut out a good section at a yard and place it over the top. It will not be perfect and you will have to do some fitting to get it close. JB weld and some screws to hold it in place while the JB cures, then grind off the screw heads and body filler. No weld fix.

First question is were is it burning oil from, past the piston rings, valve guide seals..... Don't know that's worth doing a leak down check, but that would provide some answers. How much is it burning?

Does it change if you apply the brakes lightly? Rotors could have rusted up a bit while sitting.

Remove the lower kick panel on the drivers side. Get your head under there and look up at the side of the airbox. You will see the motor and linkage.

As I'd indicate earlier,: The temp control is a cable that routes down to the passenger side of he center counsel. you can look up and see it move as you slide the temp lever. The vent control is electrical, push button control. Yes, sometimes it's the board in the controller that fails. You can change out the board. It goes down to an actuator on the drivers side of the center counsel. Pull the lower kick panel and then crawl up under there and you will see the linkage. I've had the linkage fail, the actuator or the control board. You Pull and Pay yards are your friends. Poke around there first is always a good idea. Once up under the dash, you could disconnect the linkage and move it where you want and safety in place somehow. Most of time it's the circuit board on the dash.

www.car-part.com is a good source for used parts. You can get an idea of what used engines are available and there costs.

Pictures of the Cam, and crank alignment marks would help, but that will require the timing cover to be pulled back off. Most likely bent valves. They could do a leak down test on the cylinders, they would hear where the air is leaking out of. They need to have experience with doing this for it to be valid and the timing marks need to be correct. Pulling the valve covers and getting a look at the cam and rocker arms may provide some insight as well. Good Luck!

Too bad you are so far into the engine already. Yes, I'd say timing as well. I know you said everything was good. Did you add some oil into the plug hole/cylinder and check the compression again on each cylinder? Were you holding the throttle wide open when checking and had a good battery? Did it jump right to 30 on the first stroke and then not go any higher?