2001 Pontiac Bonneville Sluggish, sudden loss of accelerati

My 2001 Bonneville occasionally gets suddenly sluggish while driving, especially on highway. The engine will suddenly knock, almost like a jerk, and the RPM will drop to 0 and stay there. The Service Engine light will come on. The car doesn't stall, but can be accelerated again. This happens about once a week or so. After a while, or a day or two, the Service Engine light will go out. We replaced the fuel filter about 2 yrs. Ago, and also the catalytic converter.