Ha! I know it! I live an hour away from everything too. You could buy a scanner for under $100, and then you'll have it for any other OBDII car you own. That's what I did.

You could even charge people like $10 or $20 to read the codes since a shop will charge $100, and make all the money of the scanner back...

 

here's one right here http://www.tradervar.com/codescout-o...ray-p35271.htm

 

There are basic ones on Amazon for ~$30 as well.

 

the autozone here, it depends on who you talk to. Most of the people that work at the one near me suck and just plain lazy ....

 

You could jack up the car . Block securely. Set park brake. Have accsess to the input sensor . Have someone put the car in gear and speed up the engine. Wiggle the wiring around the sensor and computer (directly in front of it) to see if you get any change in shifting.
Be careful.