hi there,

first off i apologise if this is in the wrong forum, if it needs to be moved/removed i'll understand.
secondly, i have used the search feature to try and find the answer

I recently bought an '02 airtrek turbo, 200,000kms (124,000miles), auto. Needs a bit of TLC but for the price i paid its certainly not that bad ($3200NZD/$1923USD)

All was well for a few weeks but its started having what i suspect is MAF sensor problems. I'm not 100% sure though which is why I've come here

Symptoms:
when the problem occurs, the car will struggle to start, like its starving for air, spluttering and even when it does start it wont idle unless rev'd. Sometimes it'll settle down and work fine for the rest of the day, sometimes it wont, and i'll need to disconnect the battery/take out the ecu fuse in an attempt to reset the ecu - this usually provides a temporary fix.
When the car does run, it will occasionally slightly 'dip' in revs, well, not really dip just a feeling of a dip, like, you can't see the meter drop but i can feel it.
When i did a forum search i saw someone mention that if, when the car stalls, the engine light comes on, then thats a sign that its the MAF sensor - is this true?
I thought it may have something to do with the idle control valve, but when i did the search i read a quick test to check, the whole 'turn your steering wheel to the left and right' thing, if the revs rise then its general fine - the revs to rise.
The problem is intermittent, every 2nd or 3rd day it happens, but obviously its just going to get worse.

Some things to note - the car has a very old pod filter, which probably hasn't done it any favours.

Does this sound like it may be the MAF sensor? if i were to plug in an OBD2 scanner, is there a code for the MAF? if so, does anyone know what it is? I've been considering buying a scanner, always thought they were really expensive but saw that they have come down in price a lot, so much that they're cheaper than what it'd cost me to take the car to a mechanic to get diagnosed.

Lastly, i have found a replacement MAF sensor, brand new (im guessing not OEM), for $350NZD/$210USD plus shipping - does that price sound about right? from what i've read its generally not a good idea to use maf senor 'cleaner' so im probably not gonna try that.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me, really really appreciate it - i'm not financially well off (tbh buying the car in the first place wasn't the smartest idea) so i would really like to try figure out the problem before dropping $400 on a replacement part that may not fix the problem.