I am going to be starting school in about a month and my car just doesn't seem like it wants to accelerate. This problem is almost twice as bad when going uphill.

The mechanic says I need a new distributor, but am not so sure. The past few weeks, when I used to accelerate, I used to find that the engine was not responding...like there was no surge in power. It could be a faulty fuel filter, or something clogging up the fuel injection. But how do I check this without telling my mechanic that he may be lying? My car doesn't start and I am in his mercy!!! :-(