2004 Ford Escape engine randomly dies, leaves me stranded?

I have a 2004 Ford Escape that I got three years ago. I don't remember how many miles we're on it when I first purchased it, but now it is about to hit 170,000. My car has a lot of little problems, but my biggest concern is the fact that sometimes my engine or motor will completely die out seconds after I start my car and start driving. Usually, if I feel that my engine is going to die out, I continue driving forward without releasing the gas for a short amount of time and eventually the engine will stay on. Yet sometimes if I can't start driving immediately after I start the car, the engine will die on me and I will be stranded.

I know nothing about cars and admittedly I don't take very good care of it. I know nothing about car maintenance and only bring my car into the shop when there's a very apparent problem. However, I have had my engine looked at by various mechanics and friends with car knowledge and told them my problem. I get a lot of different reasons from a lot of people about why my car might act the way it does, but all of those mechanics were never able to give me a direct diagnosis and what I can do to make sure this doesn't happen again. My friends have told me I need a new engine, which might as well mean I need a new car, but I'm a college student and investing in a new car isn't much of an option right now. If anyone has any idea what is wrong with my car and what I can do to fix it without buying a whole new car, I would much appreciate some help.

A new engine? Lol. Your friends with so-called car knowledge. If your engine was totally locked up or making loud knocking noises, then you would need a new one, but that doesn't sound like the case to me.
What I would be leaning towards is a part called the idle control valve (ICV). It controls your engine idle speed when you have the car in park or stopped at a stoplight. It sounds to me like it is sticking closed due to excessive carbon buildup. It is located in an assembly called the throttle body on the top of the engine and it is where your intake duct from your air filter box hooks into. The ICV itself is held to the throttle body with just a couple of bolts and once removed, you will see right away that it will need to be cleaned up. For that, a can of carburetor cleaner and a nylon wire brush works wonders on it. You then let it dry about 15 minutes and put it back in your throttle body, plug it back in and that should help you out.

This might be as simple as cleaning out the throttle body. Both sides of the throttle plate and as deep as you can reach past the throttle plate. A nylon toothbrush, clean rags, and a can of carb or TB cleaner (Same chemical these days).
This can be a symptom of a dying fuel pump or dying ignition coil. Also, spark plugs with too wide of a gap, as well.
Try the Valvoline Maxlife at your next oil change to see if the engine runs smoother or quieter, at all.