97 V6 Dakota 2wd. Automatic

Okay, i'm going to try to give all the info I can......Last couple months I have heard a whinning (heard from inside the cab) once the tranny switched into 4th but didn't feel anything different

2 weeks ago, when the engine/trans was cold, tranny would jump back and forth from 1st to 2nd and then 2nd to 3rd, but once in 3rd everything seemed okay. Also, once warmed up the issue seemed to go away.

Last 2 days, jumping when cold still persist but know once it is warm...Tranny seems to not want to shift from first, or if it shifts into second, it doesn't want to goto third. At first I could get the RPM's up to about 3000 while in 2nd and let off the gas and it would switch to 3rd then everything seemed okay.

It also seemed to help if I pulled over, went back to park, then start all over again.

It does not happen every time, sometimes it will shift, other times it won't. No whinning (mentioned above) while in 1st and 2nd, but becomes noticable once in 3rd-4th.

Is the tranny about shot....or can it be something else? (sensors to check)

 

Have you checked your transmission fluid level lately. That could be one cause.

 

Checked fluid and it seems fine. It may be a little high but not much. Fluid looks normal. What do I check next?

 

from experience: Take it to a shop. Mine started whining last week and neutralizing/getting stuck between gears/getting stuck in gear, and friday, it lost all drive in any direction. Grenaded the convertor and front pump.