My Cougar is bucking on acceleration/gear change!

It should be throwing trouble codes. Take it to an Autozone and have 'em hook up an OBD-II code reader to it. That will at least give you an indication whether or not the trouble is ignition-related, as you'll likely come up with something like "Cylinder 1 Misfire" (or whatever cylinder # it would be) or "Multiple cylinder misfire." If you're coming up with a lean code, that could point to a lot of other things. It could be something as minor as a disconnected, broken, or dry-rotted vacuum hose, or even part of the intake tube not being tightened down (the airbox lid might not be snapped shut right, or the clamps to the tube could be loose, messing with the MAF sensor's readings).

Another possibility is that the EGR valve is getting plugged up with carbon, or is otherwise not functioning correctly - EGR issues usually cause a lot of part-throttle or cruising-speed problems.

Just a couple of thoughts.

LOVE YOU DAVE. LOL.... Thanks... Master of all small and large technical tid-bits.

Cool beans. Sometimes, you'll run across that kind of a deal, where different plug brands just won't work on certain applications. The problem isn't so much with the brand or design of the plug, itself, per se ... rather, it's a matter of manufacturers and parts places trying to cross-reference plugs to work on multiple applications. They pretty much only take into account the thread size and overall size of the plug - I guess they must figure, "Well, if it'll screw into the plug hole, it's GOTTA work!" - but the heat ranges can be wayyyyy off from brand to brand. Having a plug that's way too different, such as a way cold heat-ranged spark plug, can result in premature fouling, misfires, and all sorts of wacky drivability issues.

Autolites are generally good plugs, but mostly just for old-school domestic applications (like 302's, 350's, 305's, etc.). Trying to put domestic-brand plugs into an import motor doesn't always jive because of the differences in plug design between, say, an Autolite and an NGK or Denso plug. Y'know ... metric versus SAE measurements, and so on. They'll list a plug as being a replacement for it, and yeah, it'll physically screw into the head ... but it won't perform the way it's supposed to, because it's sort of a "universal" plug never meant for that specific application. Bosch plugs seem to have better luck running in Asian and Euro imports, from what I've seen, and the newer Cougars are essentially an import of sorts, being that Mazda had a hand in their making. (The newer Cougars were made to be what was to be the third-generation Ford Probe/Mazda MX-6, when some marketing goober thought it'd be cool to slap the Cougar nameplate on it.)

Anyway, good to hear that you've got 'er running right again.