2002 Ford Escape dies

hi emily joe, this usually indicates that you have a bad idle air control valve, this keeps your car getting the air it needs when you take you foot off the gas. if this stays closed too, your car will conk off because of the inability to get air, which is one of the important elements to make an engine run

You should see the rpm in the tach dial,I bet the nidle shows less than 500 rpm(200-300).The throtle plate has a cable connect it with the gas pedal.Look for the screw that regulate the position of the plate,just turn this screw clockwise three quarters of a turn allowing the idle run at higher rpms.
Tell me if it helped you.

dafalco made a good point, you should also clean the throttle body and plate as it could be sticking , I dont believe this is a major problem