So I just hauled a very clean 2 owner 99 E300 that was sold as needing a transmission. It is in limp mode so I got it home, it had codes 056, 110, 146, 147, 151 which looks like conductor plate type codes to me involving gear not obtained, transmission slipping etc. So I cleared the codes and also checked the fluid. No fluid was showing on the dipstick tool. I ended up adding about 2-3 qts and took it out. It seemed to shift fine but it does not seem to be going into 5th. I did get it to limp again which was solved by restarting the car, which is what my other 210 diesel was doing till it went into full time limp mode. Anyway, does this sound like conductor plate to you? Will that cause it to not go into 5th? Next step will be to get under car and look for leaks, then drop the pan and see what it looks like.