1983 240D transmission issue

[cjlipps]

I have another thread on this but I'll try to reword the situation to see if I get more responses.
The car upshifts too early and will go into the next gear without regard to throttle position. IOW, it shifts at the same speed no matter how far the pedal is depressed. Probably the most telling symptom is that it behaves the exact same way even with the vacuum line disconnected from the tranny.
Question: What are the symptoms of a failed modulator? I always thought that the absence of vacuum would result in hard late shifting. If the modulator fails can it cause the vacuum to have no effect on shifting? Also it seems that the electronic kickdown has no effect.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!