07 Cobalt "Reduced Engine Power" message

So a few weeks ago, I go to start up my 2007 Cobalt and it doesn't start right. The major part of this is that there's no response in acceleration when I press the pedal. I get a "reduced engine power" mage on my display, all of the gauges stay at 0, and the idle is super shaky. My son's friend's step mom had a Cobalt ('08 I think, sedan, while mine's a coupe) and he said her's did the exact same thing with same message. They had to have both the Throttle Body Sensor Mass Air Flow Sensor replaced. Would this be a safe assumption that mine could be the same issue? My boyfriend has already replaced the air filter & cleaned the throttle body in an attempt to come up with any other solution. Please help! It has been sitting in our apartment parking space for the last 2 weeks & I work 20 miles away from home. Having my live-in son drive me back & forth to work is expensive on gas(80 miles per day in a lowered 2" 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage with 250K miles already) , and I start back college in a month so I'm definitely gonna need my own transportation again. I just can't afford to take it to a repair shop for them to charge me a grand to fix it, when it may be something my boyfriend can replace.

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2DjMcM_Quk

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2DjMcM_Quk

I notice this is a truck he's working on. Wouldn't this be different from the setup for a Chevy Cobalt?

Your cobalt is quite likely to have a similar issue. Throttle-by-wire systems are becoming more and more common, and it's very likely that your cobalt has one. These systems, I think, are a pain in the ass for reasons like this. Anyway, what was shown in that video is a good place to look for the problem.

I have seen throttle bodies, needlessly replaced, because of an intermittent wiring problem.......all TAC systems basically work the same way.....

This system uses sensors on the throttle body(can't be replaced) and also a sensor on the gas pedal....you would need a scan tool, like a Tech II, to check these sensors.....

But more often than not, a visual inspection, like in the video, can save you some big bucks....