I can’t stand when people assume that you (not personally YOU, of course ) are an idiot. Often times service personnel are somewhat jaded, because they usually ARE dealing with people that, if not idiots, are at least ignorant, and they don’t earn a living by educating people. You can’t really blame them. But there are technicians out there that are really enthusiastic ‘car guys’ like me ( ) and they are usually great. There are several technical professionals that participate in the MBShop forums, and you can really tell that they not only know their stuff, but that they don’t mind sharing the information with people that are capable of understanding it.

Check out the postings started on this thread: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=19269

BTW, I started with a car that was similar, but not quite as bad as you are describing. Slowly but surely (no pun intended) my new baby is running better & better. In your case, the primary things to check are whether the aneroid is receiving its pressure signal, and check that the trans modulator is OK, that the linkages & Bowden cable are properly adjusted, and have someone check the modulator pressure with a gauge. That will start you out on the right path.

Good Luck!

P.S. One of my favorite ‘tag’ lines:

Ignorance is the lack of information; Stupidity is the lack of ability to use information.