Lack of Usable Tranny Info

[83mercedes]

I've spent hours now searching this forum for information I can use to adjust the transmission on my 83 300cdt to eliminate flaring and bad shift caused I believe by alda adjustment.
I can only find conflicting "facts" and post after post which is answered by "run a search on _____ and there's lots of information." Unfortunately, every time one of these threads is shut down by this reply, it clutters up the searching process because it contains the keywords of the problem but no answer. This makes finding the right information impossible!!
So, does anyone know the actual answers to the following questions, so they can help everyone in the future who has this problem rather than frustrating them.
1. Is the transmission vacuum modulator on the back of the injection pump by the alda, or on the transmission, or are both of these vacuum modulators for the transmission?
2. Is vacuum fed to the modulator(s) through the device on top of the valve cover? What function does this contraption serve and how does it do it? I've read varying things, like that it softens shifts, it can be disconnected, it feeds vacuum to the modulator, et
3. How is a vacuum gauge and/or mityvac used in the calibration/testing of these transmission devices? I've read many times that you must use it, but on what lines, what readings to expect, etc.

I can't thank anyone enough who actually provides useful information on this subject. I know there are people on this site who are very skilled in transmission adjustment, but their information is impossible to find under all the dead-end threads.