It all started the Monday after Easter in the heavy stop and go traffic, the tranny started not engaging the low gears, pulled off and let it cool,gave up on getting home as the highway was empty the other way, and it was fine in the higher gears, but back on the surface streets every time I slowed down it wouldn't go without furiously reving it slipping along until it was fast enough to engage third. Over the next few days it got worse, I could reverse out of my parking spot 10 or 20 feet, but no fwd. If I reved up and down while going between 2 and 3 on the shifter it would bump forward 5 feet or so, then get pushed the rest of the way. Didn't think it was the pump or torque converter the way you could feel something happening in there, so I worked up through the cheapest fixes first, fluid and filter, then the B2. After all the days of working on it and getting nowhere, when I got the B2 in and rolled out out the space the feeling of putting it in drive and having it engage was an incredible relief, after only having the car 2 weeks the thought of putting a $1200 tranny in this $1400 beater was killing me. It seems fine now except for a harsh kickdown. Also midway through it started shooting fluid out the tailpipe, making me think it had blown some seal during the reving, turned out to be condensation from the starting and shutting off the engine cold mixing with soot and looking oily. Another huge relief that it wasn't the head gasket...
