I'm going through hell with the TPS on my '96. Four in the last two years, coincidentally since the recall for the computer re-flash for '96s. I went to the junkyard and loaded up on TPSs and IACs, and they seem to be the best bet, and at five bucks a pop, not a bad price. I just started doing resistance readings on them, and what I've done is use my '92's TPS as a reference, as, even at over 200k miles, it behaves perfectly. Seems the lowest value at idle gives the best performance and tranny shifting. For reference, I also tested a brand new Standard brand TPS I bought from Rock Auto, for forty-some bucks. It threw codes within a week, and the tranny shifted erratically, and kept going into and out of lock up. It had resistance values out of the ballpark! Sunday I put in the lowest value piece, and so far, it's behaving perfectly!
Another thing you want to be mindful of, I was driving home from work two weeks ago, and the tranny was acting up, engine missing, just like another bad TPS. But, the battery volt meter was dancing, and the 'GEN' light came on. Time for a new alternator? Maybe, and it got one anyway. But what I found was a cracked battery terminal, making momentary contact, on and off. Plays hell with the rest of the electrics!