MAF is Mass Air Flow sensor. It is in the large tube between the air filter and the throttle plate & intake manifold. It has one or two wires that are heated by electricity flow, and will cool when air goes past. Knowing the ambient temperature and current applied, one can calculate the MASS of the air flowing into the engine. If flaky, it can cause hesitation and poor response. It can also cause P0170 and P0174 codes, I think.
Another thing to look at is the TPS. If it goes flaky, the computer can "think" that the throttle plate is closed when in actuality it is not, and thus decide to cut fuel flow. That can also cause transmission torque converter lockup to dis-engage and re-engage ***** nilly.
tom