The ECM is screwed to the panel on the drivers side next to the airbox and the radiator brace. You will see several harnesses plugged into it.

 

Thanks Charles.
I got the new alternator in(who the hell designed that stupid setup!)new battery and changed the neg terminal cable end.
car charges fine now and then....
I was driving it at 70mph on the hwy heading to Brooklyn for a mopar meet...hit a bump and the freaking truck just died. all the lights and everything else was fine, motor just cold went dead. pulled over tried 3x to get it started then it started up.. brought it home parked it in the driveway.Funny part is the day before I drove it for 2 solid abusive hours to see what would could and might happen and this never happened. jumped in my Passat and went to the Mopar meet with my VW again! they said I can't come anymore unless I bring my mopar lol.
what the hell would cause such a thing. a bump killed my truck..insane! I thought VW's were quirky.

 

In my wifes GrandAM which was the biggest POS going until I sold it for $500.00. There was a loose connection at the tank for the fuel pump-we ended up changing the harness then all was well-until the lower intake plastic gasket went. Then sold it to some kids who were gonna fix it all up- hope they did well.

 

Scott,

A place to start would be to check the connectors for the Crank Position Sensor, Cam Position Sensor and the relay terminals for the Automatic Shutdown and Fuel Pump to ensure the terminals are corrosion free and snugly connected.

The connector for the Crank PS is on top of the intake manifold near the firewall next to the fuel rail and No6 injector, the connector for the Cam PS the wiring coming from the distributor, the relays are located in the PDC (fuse box in engine compartment) and they are the cube relays to the far left.

 

what is that and where is it?..basically what does it do

if the auto shutdown works with with sound then that may be it(fingers crossed)
I banged everything with a hammer, kicked the **** out of the gas tank and other stuff..truck would not die!!

 

The ASD relay is located in the PDC (fuse block in engine compartment). My understanding is that the ASD is used when your vehicle is in an accident so the fuel pump is shut off to decrease the chance of fire when the ignition is on.

 

Do you think if the exhaust bangs hard enough on the body it would trigger it, is there some kind of sound or knock sensor in the rear? I have to get that fixed also. it made a loud bang right when it died.