I drove two miles to the store this morning and that is the last time I will drive it until it is fixed. The condition is getting much worse. Up until now it ran fine when it was cold, but after 20 minutes of driving it started acting up. This morning it was acting up right from the start. It acted up all the way there and back.
It is definitely a loss of electrical power. I had not noticed until the last trip but the entire sequence of events starts with the volt meter dropping from 13.5 to 9 volts. Actually it is probably not even 9 volts, that is just the beginning of the scale on the meter. When the voltage drops the tranny shifts into neutral, the engine revs a bit, the gas gauge bounces and then it goes back to normal. Prior to today normal was about 90% of the time. Now normal is about 10%.
I had a guy who was going to come over and change the alternator but he never showed up. So now I have gotten a recommendation of a mobile RV mechanic from my insurance agent. I am waiting for him to call me. It sounds now like a loose connection, probably on the alternator. I am not nimble enough to look for loose wires, since the alternator is almost under the dash. So I will wait.