Trying to figure out if my transmission is toast or not... it won't shift over 2nd gear. i've replaced all the vacuum lines and connections so they all hold a vac. since doing this, I have gotten 1st gear back (which i never had before) but it still won't leave 2nd. kick down switch is disabled/unplugged. (but when applying voltage to the wire, I can hear the solenoid clicking)
the vacuum modulator holds vacuum when applied with a mityvac, but when I replaced the o-ring on the modulator the inside of the modulator was full of transmission fluid.. which I've read is a bad thing..
I am wondering, if the modulator is bad, would it cause a no-shift situation? or is the modulator just to regulate the softness of the shifts?
Basically, I'm wondering if trying to swap the modulator even makes sense to try, or if that is obviously not the problem..?? (BTW, the modulator is a red body type with cream cap, which is a special order part for $85, so hate to just throw $85 at it if it couldn't possibly be the problem)

I also tried draining and changing the transmission fluid and filter, but no change when that was done.

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1981 240D ... 265k
1977 240D ... 265k
1977 240D ... 250k