Get rid of the Platinums, could be all your problem. Probably not though. Sounds like you have a big performance problem from the data on the economy gauge. It is a vacuum gauge and you should be all the way to the left (high) at idle and you should be able to accelerate without going into the red. Heavy acceleration will of course take you to the red but a casual acceleration should be possible without going into the read The higher the vacuum reading at every power output the better your engine is performing.

These vacuum readings are surely responsible for your hard shifting.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician