yea...was reading about MAFs tonight. Looks to me like Cardone is an aftermarket and most people are insisting on a Bosch replacement. I found a Bosch for $100 on Amazon, but they are usually near $200 whereas the aftermarket OEM ones (Cardone, etc... are 100-140. The one I got was $120 but I remember it wasn't in a Bosch box (yellow with bosch and/or land rover emblems on it). May try the Bosch MAF and see if I can return the one I purchased at O' Reilly.

That link to partsgeek I posted above has one bosch MAF for $122 and another bosch for $101. I bought the one for $101 after another member sent me the link. Sure enough it came sealed up in a nice yellow bosch box. Best price around.

Did you you ever get a chance to try smoke testing with the MAF still on the intake tube?

yes....same results. Have a Bosch unit on the way. Hoping O'reilly's will take the other back. I'm a good customer there, so I think they will. Also ordered a new gasket for the throttle body where I thought I might have seen a touch of smoke. Will keep you updated as I try both these fixes.

UPDATE.....well, switched out the MAF for a Bosch. No codes so far. I'm assuming the aftermarket MAF was the issue. Will update again if this changes but will call this case closed otherwise. Thanks for the help!