RE: An OBDII scantool...
Scott Miller, (avu3), has the system from
www.obd-2.com , and has pulled codes for me twice with it. Like Autotap, it runs on a PC/laptop, but at $122 with cable, it's likely not as comprehensive as Autotap. Regardless, I ordered one myself - 'should be here Tuesday.
Besides all the generic OBD-II codes, it pulls Ford specific ones. It also gives a plain English readout of what the codes mean as it pulls them. It also does a complete running test of some ~ 50 other parameters, (pass/fail, including actual measurements vs.limits), but I haven't gotten into deciphering those yet. You can save a complete log of everything recorded, and it also has a "dashboard" screen for certain readouts, which can even be used while driving. And I just inherited a nice LITTLE 266mhz Toshiba Portege 3010CT laptop - perfect for this!
Another code reader itself to check is the Equus 3100, usually available for under $150. It's at
www.iequus.com but the site appears down this evening - it was up yesterday. It also has extensive Ford special code capabilities.
And remember - Mark VIIIs didn't get OBD-II until '96.
John
http://mark8.org/users/johnaec/Mark_VIII_s.jpg
'97 Mark VIII LSC
'96 T-Bird 4.6L