Mercury capri 1991

I just bought a mercury capri 1991 and I am new driver. My husband will not let me drive it as he says it is unsafe for a new driver(he drives it constantly). My mechanic, who I trust, is unable to figure out the problem, and I fear he will have a mental breakdown. The car loses power sometimes when you step on the accelerator and you have to repeatedly pump the accelerator until it responds, almost like it cannot find the gear. I know it has a weird manual button (it is the basic automatic) that when we touched it seemed to make the car behave better for a short time. I do not know if the problem is related to this, but I love this car and would like to be able to drive it, so if any one has any ideas, I would much appreciate it. Again, the mechanic’s very sanity is at stake.