hello all! check this out...

start my wagon, all is fine. all the gears seem to work ok. then when i put it in drive, it upshifts really late. then she slips her way into 4th gear. i hate that. then my damn reverse doesnt go! i put it in reverse, and i can feel it engage, bu i give her some gas, and i go nowhere! man, i hate that. any ideas? i changes the fluid and filter last week. i also noticed that the economy gauge acts funny when this is all going on. then, ill shut off the car for a few minutes, and boom, i can back-up all day if id like. i hope that is something that i can fix. the dealership is all like, you need a new tranny, im all like, please no! i will ship a 12-pack of milwaukee's finest beer to anyone who can help me. thanks ahead of time!

best,
dan herman, esq.

No amount of Milwaukee If digested would allow that
Transmission to magically have reverse, I am sorry to say
It’s internal.

I was getting a noise in reverse, so I took it to a guy who knows Benz trannys. We went for a test drive. While he was in the driver's seat reverse went on vacation. When it was put in reverse it would nudge forward a little, like it has just been put in drive, but it would go nowhere. If I parked it facing uphill it still wouldn't go backward. The tech who was driving at the time told me it was trying to engage two gears at once. Currently my car is on jackstands, the transmission will soon be out.
The TE that was mine, but is now my mom's does the same thing as yours in the 3-4 gear shift. I've been told that the seals that are failing that cause that to happen are on the very last part you pull out of the trans when you rebuild it.
I wouldn't take any road trips in your car right now.

__________________
Fourings

84 Audi Coupe GT with Turbo engine, EFI (buh-bye CIS), Jamex seats, Koni's/H&R's, e-code lights. 210k and counting.
1992 Anthracite 400E, 161k, "Grey Ghost".
1986 VW Quantum Syncro, 192k, gone to the crusher in the sky.
1989 300TE 172k. (Was mine, now also Mom's car)
72 280SE 4.5 (Mom's car)