Anyone hook a scanner up to it? What does it do when it cuts out... is it nearly instant or does it start sputtering and just cant recover?

I'd take a look at the coolant temp reading (not the dash, the ECM uses a different sensor) as a possible "quick" fix. Hook a scanner up and read the coolant temp on a cold morning before running it... temp should be near ambient. If its 40 degrees outside and the coolant temp is reading 90 degrees... i'd start there.