Lazy to read what you wrote here now. Too long. You sound very pessimistic in most posts lately.
But I still voted for choice #1...
If "AutoTchr" offers help for you, why didn't you take/try it?
I think your car needs a good mechanic to check, spends some time and of course money. I have dumped alot of money on my second one, still not working right...but getting better. Each repairs is like around 4 digits or more so far. The money I spent on that thing, I can probably afford/pay installments on a much, much nicer car.
I still like my car, if I want to sell it, I'd get to most things working right.