Yes as 732002 confirmed 3200 rpm is about right. Makes the W124/W201 passing machines at that rpm. And yes you really have to jump on the gas to get it to start in 1st when in D.

You can shift the tranny manually from D and fool it into starting in 1st again as 732002 explained.

Just an FYI - If you look at your speedometer you will see the following markings I, II and III. These indicate the maximum speed you should be going when shifting the tranny. So when the speedometer is at II you can safely shift to 2 on the shifter at that speed or below.