Gas pedal not engaging/accelerating

[tzchaiboy]

I drive a 2007 Toyota Yaris. 5-speed manual. I'm not very mechanically-minded, so I apologize in advance if I describe things inefficiently or incorrectly, or if there's a painfully obvious answer to these issues.

Yesterday, my car wouldn't start. It made a bit of a clicking sort of noise that made me at first think that the battery had died. But, the AC, lights, and radio all worked just fine, so that wasn't it. Also, the clock reset itself somehow while I was doing this. I tried starting a few times, as well as attempting to start with the gas pedal depressed in case the engine was somehow flooded.

I switched cars with my wife since I had to get to work and didn't have time to troubleshoot the Yaris any further. Later that day, when she went out to try and start it, it worked just fine. She says it may have hesitated just a bit, but she's not sure if that actually happened or if it was just perception because of what I had told her about this morning.

Today, the car started just fine. Like her, it seemed to me like maybe it hesitated for just a fraction of a second, but I'm not sure. However, it did not drive normally. All morning on my way to work, I had to press the gas pedal down almost all the way to the floor in order to get any kind of acceleration or action out of the engine, no matter what gear I was in. As a result, I stalled out 4 times, most of those on a steep hill that I drive every day, because I simply couldn't slam the gas pedal down fast enough to get it to rev up (I ended up having to use the emergency brake method and rev the engine up with my foot on the floor before releasing it). Every time I would shift gears, I could feel a lurching slow-down that lasted until I pressed the pedal down far enough to engage the engine.

Thanks for any advice you can give! I called a mechanic a few minutes ago who suggested checking the battery connections first and bringing the vehicle in to be inspected if that's not the issue. Haven't had a chance to check those connections yet, and I wanted to get it posted here first thing this morning in case I can't get to it until later tonight.