Dash Out - Electric Motor no longer assists.

New here.

I just recovered my 2008 from my college-age daughter. It only cost me my 2014 Prius.

The dash has been going on and off for awhile, but it seems to be out more than on. The battery was flat so I recharged (thankfully it took a charge) and the dash came on briefly.

She claimed that car was unreliable so I decided to take it for a spin. Minnesota, South Dakota, ... I noticed some hesitation on acceleration and add fuel injector cleaner. Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico.... This hesitation seemed to come and go. I would have guessed a fuel filter, but I had that replaced 10,000 miles ago.

Texas, wow Texas, is big. Something went wrong as the engine light came on and it seemed to put itself in the Brake Gear (usually for coasting down mountains) with the engine idling fast on its own. I could turn off the car, restart and the problem would go away for 10 minutes.

I took it to a dealership, but when I restarted, the light was off. I dithered and made a 1100 mile dash for Fort Lauderdale to complete the 3500 (?) mile trip.

The car seems sluggish and the electric-side seems to have a mind of its own now. I suspect I'm no longer getting any boost from the electric motor as it has slow acceleration from the red light.

Question: Could this just be the obvious that the dashboard is out, stupid? I remember in the past that the longer the dash was out the flakier the car became, but the dash has never been out this long.

Total miles are around 200,000. It's been a good car; otherwise. I put $1500 into it about 10,000 miles ago for belts, brakes, tune-up at the dealership. The dash was working at the time, so they couldn't diagnosis it.