thanks for the help guys! i went out and took the air filter off and found my idle screw was the problem. the engine was fine at idle...but the screw was backed off too far and letting the slide close when hitting the brakes. adjusted the idle screw and re-tuned this morning...and everything works great now.
on a second note. a friend of mine kept saying, DONT BUY A GAS CAR, DONT BUY A GAS CAR!!! so far, this tuning thing hasnt been too bad at all. i just go buy the book and 20 minutes later...done. once i know exactly what to do, the tuning time will probably be cut in half.