engine light came on and car was running rough and stalling - had it for 5 whole days so i was pissed! popped the hood - the cold air intake manifold had come loose from the engine - could this be the whole problem -? runs fine this am after re-attachment - paranoid now!@

 

Yes is the short answer. If the air leak (any air leak)came after the MAF sensor the engine cant account for the extra air so it runs bad (rich)

 

Why did it take you 5 days to investigate???

You could have seriously damaged - or even destroyed - your engine.