i decided to make this a more specific thread that David K. has been very helpful with. my 300e-2.8 won't kick down and the problem appears to be that it is not activating the kickdown switch properly. the pedal doesn't seem to get all the way down so that i hear a positive click from the switch. if i stick a piece of cardboard between the pedal and the switch then i do feel the positive click. i might do a test with a shim in place. the other possibility is for an adjustment on the throttle linkage that might allow the pedal to go all the way down. i am still examining everything to see if there is an impediment like maybe the carpeting. thanks to David for all his pointers thus far...