I entirely agree, and yes part of the fun of ownership is keeping them running well, and in my case, bring them up to their original condition. However one thing certainly leads to another, and the "while you're in there" urge is very strong. Last year I needed to change the brake booster which lead to .... brake MC, clutch MC, most of the vacuum lines and rubbers, many of the electrical plug/socket covers, and a few other details. I'm very glad I did that work, the engine bay now looks great, the car runs well, and I have enjoyed many a drive this Summer. But I'm retired and have time....
But if you're determined to chase this down you might do well to order a couple of metres/yards of vacuum hose and assorted rubber junctions, because they might be part of this problem and you will anyway need them over time. And then follow Dan's advice with a can of WD40. The air/fuel mix is computer regulated, but it relies on getting correct signals and so dirty terminals, bad connections, wrong air feed, will mess with the input values and sticking sliders will mess with the output response.
Good luck.