Intermittent no crank no start

I'm working on a 2003 Ford Escape 4wd that has
no issues except a few times a month, it will die
and then temporarily, is no crank no start. When
this occurs, it's worth noting that the pcm is
powered down, so no fuel, no spark. The wipers are
also dead when this occurs. Vents, radio, lights,
and every other accessory seem to be unaffected.
She tells me that the truck will hesitate and act as
if it's about to stall when the wipers are turned on.
This is intermittent as well. I have never been able
to duplicate these problems, and only been able to
inspect the vehicle one time while it was in its no
crank no start state and while I was trying to
troubleshoot the issue, the vehicle mysteriously
came back to life. She lives 4 hours away, so it's
been even more difficult to troubleshoot. This
started occurring after either one of two things.
The first is that I replaced the transmission in
December. I have since gone over all wiring,
connectors, and grounds that could have been
damaged or left loose, during the transmission
replacement. Everything checks out good. The
other factor that occurred about a week after the
transmission replacement was the vehicle was in a
minor collision during the icy weather. Except for a
bent strut, all damage was, cosmetic. The damage
was to the right fender and no wiring harmeses or
grounds were affected. There are no codes or
freeze frame data. I've checked all relays, replaced
the ignition switch, and performed extensive
wiggle tests trying to duplicate the problem. The
theft light goes out when the key is in the ignition
and because of the apparent link to the wipers, it
doesn't appear to be a PATS issue. Any insight
would be greatly appreciated as I have a couple
weeks off and I have to get this resolved because
the vehicle belongs to a woman living in a very
rural area without cellular coverage, so obviously
dependability is critical on this vehicle. I was a
professional tech for 15 years, and these were the
issues I dreaded and since it's personal, I've lost
plenty of sleep.