I pulled off the lower valve body and definitly found some gunk in the cavity below one of the screens. Is a little bit of dirt enough to cause no upshift? The govenor drive gear is visible and looks fine - the gear is metal on this car, not plastic.

BTW - this is an AMG 1st gear start valve body, hence the confusion as to whether I was starting in 1st or 2nd (I didn't know it had the modified valve body until I took it apart).

I will check the 1-2 command valve in the valve body to make sure its not worn and hanging. Apart from that I'm tempted to put it back together and see if it shifts.

Can governor action be checked without dropping transmission and removing access cover?

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

P.S. can someone explain to me what the sliding mechanism is for in a Meyle transmission filter?