My dad said he talked to a ford dealership the other day and described the problems i'm having and apparently the guy said that the timing can be adjusted by the computer? I've never heard of this before has anyone else?

 

I'm not sure on a 97, but on the 99+ mustangs all the timing/fuel adjustments are made by re-flashing the computers memory with a different file or installation of a chip.

 

On my jetta, all timing is controled by the Computer.

 

You may want to be more specific in your question.....

Tbirdscwd is right about a programmer. If you're talking about the computer doing it by itself, then I believe yes, it is capable. In the event of heatsoak the computer may retard timing a few degrees as a safety precaution. GTOs are infamous for this....