2001 VW GTI Dies Randomly

[65'1300Deluxe]

Hello all, I've been fighting an uphill battle with my GTI ever since I got it. I undid all of the crappy aftermarket mods and got the engine stock again, but lost the timing belt (and some valves as a result) a month ago. Got a new head, installed it and got it timed properly ( first attempt was a tooth off). It drove great for the first 3 days, then on the fourth day, it abruptly shut down while I was driving. No loss of power, just turned off. No CEL either. Attempting to crank it right afterwards resulted in an occasional sputter, but no dice. Letting it sit for a minute or two allowed me to restart it and drive again for a time before it shut down again.

After I got home, the CEL did come on. However, all it showed was a P0172-Fuel trim too rich Bank 1.
The only thing I could think of was that the car had been driven without a functioning MAF for as year or two, and that one or more of the O2 sensors might be damaged; I installed a new MAF when the head was replaced so I doubt it could be that.

The only thing I could find online was that the Crank Position Sensor could be dying, as that doesn't always throw a code. My problem with that is that the car waited THREE DAYS before pulling this crap, so why would it fail now?

Interestingly, the first time I set the timing belt up after the head was installed, the car pulled this same stunt exactly 3 days after I cleared the codes and got it running. I just assumed it was related to the timing being slightly off; correcting the timing apparently did not affect this in any way.

1.8T AWW engine for reference.

I'm starting to lose my mind with this, any ideas?
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1965 Deluxe Beetle "Camilla"
1972 Super Beetle Barnfind "Roland"
2001 GTI 1.8L Turbo

[Rallyedude]

Did you disconnect any of the fuel lines or vent lines at the rt strut tower when you did timing belt? Check they are in correct position. Otherwise , crank sensor is my guess
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85 2wd Doka ABA In progress
82 westy diesel under the knife , MTDi ,weddle gears

[65'1300Deluxe]

I did disconnect the lines and plug them, but I made sure everything went back where it was supposed to. Ironically, I've been driving the car for the past few days and aside from the CEL being on, I've had no sudden shutdowns.
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1965 Deluxe Beetle "Camilla"
1972 Super Beetle Barnfind "Roland"
2001 GTI 1.8L Turbo

[volkybus]

How did u fix that problem? Mine is a silimer problem.(95 Jetta thnx Bill. PR & VT

[volkybus]

Update on my Jetta stall and one cyl problem....I changed out the vacuum assist chamber & assorted hoses & so far so good. The newer mk3 doesn't have this so I hope it helps somebody..Good LuckBill in PR & VT