It's a 2001 retired police interceptor, it has 270k on it and it was running fine up until today. It suddenly has so much less power than it did and it bogs down badly going up hill. It feels like a gutless 4 cylinder. My boyfriend was taking his shoes off and knocked something off from around the pedals, it is a black plastic bracket about 2 inches long and we are not sure where it came from. It has no screw holes, it just appears to clip on. Any ideas what it is, where it goes or what it's for?

 

The bracket holds an electronic controller in place (can't recall its exact purpose) but it could be rear defogger or cruise control, etc... I suspect this is likely just coincidence and unrelated to the lack of power concern.

Was this shortly after refueling (bad gas) we all get it now and then =:O
How long since the fuel filter was replaced?
Did you notice any gradual reduction in performance at higher speeds recently (indicative of a restricted exhaust, often catalytic convertor melt-down)?
Any lights? MIL? OD?
Is the transmission starting out in second or shifting poorly (signs of ECAT issues)?
Start by checking for fault codes & see if that points you in the right direction.