What if the battery dies and then the next day it threatens to stall while idling?

tin/antimony alloy batteries stop taking a charge 10%/year...a 1996 is a grandpa...why you makin' grampa do all the heavy lifting here...retire that battery and get a NEW one...problem solved...also be sure to wirebrush clean the other end of the black cable that attaches to the chassis ground~ ps-- there are NO MORE LEAD car batteries anymore~

I bought that battery and the connection terminals new last December or so. that's not the problem.

No...it's the OTHER end of the cable...that attaches to the frame/fender/ground...wherever? that one needs to make a SOLID connection as daily starts always generate a blue spark from dis-similar metals exchanging more than 300 cold cranking amps...so what you're left with is a "semiconductor" layer of corrosion~....clean that with a coarse wirebrush and put them together to insure a steady 12 volts to the ECU the ignition, fuel pump...and auxilliary devices such as power windows and windshield wipers~

Sounds like what my dad was saying, that maybe one of the wires melted out of the plastic cable and is connecting with the frame or something. But I don't know where to look for that stuff.