GM / General Motors: Ping - shiden_kai / Ian

My server is acting up, so I apologize if this is double posted.

Ian, I just had a call from my son who informs me that his '98 Grand Am died
today. He was on the highway when he says he heard a high pitched whining
noise just before "all the dash lights came on", apparently including the
Service Engine Soon light. There was no smoke or clunking sounds. He said it
seemed to lose power, but he managed to take an exit ramp into a small town
and parked it at a Canadian Tire lot before shutting it off. Unfortunately
there is no GM dealer anywhere near where the car is, so he went into
Canadian Tire and asked them to check it out. He said that they came out and
started it up but it wouldn't shift into any gear until they raised the hood
and did something. Also, the warning lights were all still on. It was late
in the day and they are going to check it out tomorrow. The car has the 3.1
V6 in it and has over 200,000 kilometres on it, so I wouldn't be surprised
if it's computer related. Any ideas what we may be looking at here problem
wise and cost? Thanks for your usual thoughtfulness.