1995 Ford Contour exhaust manifold heating up red hot

There are two main things that will cause this. 1. Restricted exhaust. Check for a plugged converter or muffler. 2. Timing. If the timing is too far off, combustion will take place when the exhaust valves are open, causing the manifold to glow. It is not a fuel delivery issue, as not enough fuel would cause a cooler burn. If the engine was running lean before, you may be dealing with two separate issues. You will need to find either the exhaust or the timing problem and fix it before any further judgements can be made. You may also want to replace the O2 sensor nearest the manifold since it may be damaged now. Check these suggestions and post back your findings. I have heard of this before, but they come few and far between and not always the same type of vehicle.