the rears are only there for emissions purposes to throw the dummy CEL if the cats are bad (or missing). they have no effect on performance and arent read into the EEC for controlling air/fuel. the fronts, however, do. other things could cause the problems you indicated, but if you have high miles, then replace them. call randy at liberty ford and you can get oem's for 66 bucks each. i'd also check your MAF sensor if it's dirty. how is your idle?