The check engine light keeps coming on and code says it's the mass air flow sensor, change that, cleared the code and know the check engine light is back on and it started dying out on me while drivin

changing the sensor DOES NOT FIX the problem! That just replaces the sensor that was detecting a problem.

What is the actual code number that the check engine light is throwing?

I don't know the number that it is throwing when I took it to Auto Zone they just told me it was the MAS. None of this started till I started using the a/c, it got really sluggish and wouldn't go over 20mph, I was pushing on the gas and when my dad and I was trying to figure it out we had disconnected the battery cables and after we did that it stopped doing for the longest time till today.

Is check engine light back on? If so go back to auto zone and have them read codes again. Post the number back on here and we can better help you figure out what's going on. Oh and undoing the battery clears the codes so try to avoid doing this till after you get the next codes.

people charge you to check your "codes" then they sell you a sensor and pretend that that fixed the problem. It usually isn't a defective sensor (although it can be - especially the ones under the car for monitoring the exhaust) without diagnosing the real problem which can be clogged filters,etc.

Yes local shops will charge you but auto zone does not charge for this service. And if one of the stores (auto zone) tries to charge then I advice to call their issues department. This is suppose to be a free service to all car owners who ask for it to be done.

mass airflow sensors detect airflow volume and temp and there are different kinds of sensors that use different methods to do their job. The data is analyzed by PCM, If anomalies are outside government set parameters then s__t follows. The problem can be air flow restriction like a clogged filter;air leaks;even a misfire can reverse air flow. Also there can be problems with voltage and connector at the sensor. Diagnosis isn't done with the code(s) it throws because the skill comes from not getting a code but from then reading the PCM input and output data and trying to figure out what's wrong. If the problem is simple like a clogged filter then it's easy to find. But a very skilled diagnostician is needed to determine it is a misfire. ( a misfire can be, in itself, caused by different things.

WITHOUT money or warranty this can be a very expensive fix( if it is not something simple like the air filter or leak.) Might not be P.C.( and on newer cars it may not even work; because, the PCM now a days is massing more and more data to make the fine adjustments, that are required to pass emission test ) but - in my area - the average guy can still keep a car on the road by disconnecting stuff . We are in a sparsely populated area where the government does not require annual (or any) emission test . Not P.C.- but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get back and forth to work. My neighbour has run with the MAS disconnected for years. [we can still burn the fall leaves in our back yard . One hour away towards civilization and it is annual emission certification and no leaf burning.