87 300D non-turbo euro version

this happens at random, there are times when my tranny shifts at 3000rpm, but even then it holds the gear for a long time before shifting... when this happens there is also a slight rattling... not sure if its from the tranny or the engine.

this morning i removed the bowden cable link to the accelerator, i noticed a much smoother ride altogether, it didn't shift late AT ALL. So it seemed that the bowden cable was heavily misadjusted.
On the way back it still drove smoothly but on 1 instance it shifted late once on the trip back home, downhill.
I
Anyway, is the link supposed to have slack? Mine doesn't have any slack. once the acce;lerator is depressed it pulls on the bowden instantly.

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85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project