Hello Allen and welcome to a loving and caring family, my name is Ţröstur (Robin, like the bird) and i'm a mechanic with twenty odd years of fixing these babies.

1. The idle control valve is powered by the Over Voltage Protection relay, pn: A2015400845 they are a common fault point, buy it new from a Mercedes dealer, they are not expensive.

2. The automatic transmission is either 722.324 or 722.355, the type is stamped on the left side where the pan meets the housing.

3. Normal start is in second gear.

4. The shift delay is controlled by a cable running to the throttle connection on top of the motor adjust it till your satisfied.

5. Vacuum only controls the transmissions softness.

6. The engine should be on the later part of the pulling curve when next gear arrives, you will know when you get there.

On a personal note you have the best Mercedes ever produced and if taken care of will give years of trouble free service. They're not called Panzer for nothing.

__________________
600SEL '91
300E 4Matic '88
240D '83
280SE '77
350SE '73
The most complex systems can fail in the simplest way.
Contra verbosus noli contendere verbis, sermo datur cunctis, animi sapientia paucis.

i don't believe in the lord! He's never bought me a Mercedes Benz.