1993 VW fox misses and bogs down. Causes traffic back up

My 93 VW FOX has a 1.8 engine has less than 60,000 miles.I've had it a year. Recently it developed a bad fuel leak while I was driving it home from work.I was fortunate my car didn't catch on fire.I noticed it started missing and was low on fuel. Below the empty mark.I saw I was out of gas & pulled over at a nearby gas station.I bought 10.00 worth gas not knowing it would leak right out.(I didn't shut off the engine for fear it wouldn't start back)
Soon I noticed the fuel on the road behind me when I looked in my rearview mirror. The car was missing very badly.I pulled over. Called a tow truck and had it towed in to a nearby shop.
The mechanic said he found a fuel line that had been against the manifold. This caused it to develop a leak. He repaired the leak but when I went to pick up my car I still had to put fuel back in my gas tank. It idled and missed badly when I started it. When I asked why it still missed the mechanic claimed it was because the car had ran out of gas. He claimed it would get better.
The miss smoothed out after my husband found a few air line hoses loose on the car and re-attached them but it still had a miss.I have had to drive this car as it is. Unfortunately the miss has gotten worse it seems. The mechanic who worked on my car claims it needs the injectors cleaned now but denied taking any air lines loose.
I smell gas occassionally when I drive my car. It still misses too. I had to pull over once because I had traffic backing up behind me. It doesn't miss every day.I drive 18 miles one way to work 5-6 days a week. I have noticed it has started missing in the same general area.10 miles from my home.I always warm my car up about 10 minutes before I drive it but I don't know if the miss is because the car is warmed up or not. It has occured when I was driving uphill and accelerating at speeds above 50 mph. Sometimes if I don't try to force it to take gas and allow it to slow down on its own, give it less fuel. It will smooth out. My hus. Could it be the fuel pump?My mechanic says its the injectors.I do smell gas sometimes. Why do I have a problem now and not before the leak?