[billschroeder5842]

I took it to my local oil change place that I'm comfortable with. They have a young mechanic that lets me get under the car with him.

The trans fluid looked like maple syrup and I have a feeling that it is original (the car has 70k on it) and never been changed. We load it with AMSOIL Synchromesh and put a new plug (with teflon tape) on the drain. Thanks for the tip on the new plug because it was needed!

While up in the air, we did an oil change with Mobile 1 5w30 synthetic-- it was due in 300 miles anyway.

The shifting was noticeably smoother on the short drive home, so I'm a beliver!

Thanks for the hints!