Stretch, thanks for the pictures! They were very helpful.
I can confirm you can remove the valve body with the trans in the car, in fact it is rather easy. I left the pan empty for a few days to let it catch drips, I didn't get completely filthy as I was removing the
VB from the trans.
I found some interesting things. Based on this level of goop how many miles would you say are on the trans?
(yes that's a pile of goo)
And here is the "accumulator switching on piston":
Gee, I wonder if that blob of goo is causing problems (hence my weak reverse)!
I installed the superior shift kit, the instructions included are OK but could be a bit more verbose.
I'm excited to see how it runs now... hopefully I have time to put it back together next week!
-J