Was the trans fluid & filter changed recently?

I'm not sure what a "soft rebuild" is but at $2000 I would drive the car until it quits.

I had a similar flare in my trans, after replacing the regulator spring I didn't notice an immediate improvement. After driving for about 3 weeks the flare slowly went away. I'm thinking that due to the adaptive transmission it took time for the trans to adapt to the new regulator spring.

My 98 E320 recently turned 200K miles on the original trans.

__________________
Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles