[Miata] '02 Miata Bucking Without CEL - Big Mystery!

[Bryan Wyatt]

All,
 
I'm not sure how to describe this in one word, but here goes the long version:
I was on my way home driving across Ohio this weekend and 3 separate times the car (an '02 with stock everything intake/exhaust/ignition and about 60k on the clock) began to buck uncontrollably.  The revs would bounce within a 500rpm range of whatever value they were at when the car began to buck.  The only way to "cure" the problem was to turn the car off and wait for it to cool down.  Unforutnately, the car didn't always start on the first try.  Very frustrating!
 
As I said before, the car is stock everything (I even put on a stock exhaust after I bought it).  I replaced the plugs about a month (and 1000mi) ago, but the car did this same thing on the old plugs.  It will even repeat the behavoir at random in the parking lot at work driving at no more than 25mph.
 
Any ideas?  Could heat soak be affecting the coils or wires?  Maybe even the Cam Angle Sensor?  The car seems to start up after I let the engine cool.  Is there a way I could effectively cool off the engine bay?
 
To repeat one last time...the car does not throw a CEL even after the car is restarted.
 
Thanks for your help!
 
-Bryan and The Tick


      
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