Check engine

You can pull a code to see what triggered the check engine light. The loss of power may be a sensor issue (such as MAF), but it may also the fuel pump. Try having the fuel pressure tested, and possibly replace the fuel filter.

Need the code to know for sure. But know that a blinking CEL is potentially very bad news. Stop driving the car until you get it resolved, as you could cause severe engine and/or catalytic convertor damage. But being a 1996, a good candidate would be the intake manifold. They were poorly designed during that period and cracking was frequent, with exactly those symptoms. Ford redesigned it and the newer design is much less prone to cracking. The initial CEL when you bought the car may be unrelated to this problem.