I think my transmission is gone
 

Just wanted to check, but I'm pretty sure the transmission in my Buick is history.

Drove it on a long trip today, drove great the whole way down. Then when I got there, it stopped shifting out of first gear right...it waited until 25 mph to shift, and then when it did, it "let go" and revved up before shifting to second...pretty sure that's slip. Also, the torque converter and fourth gear now come together at 30 mph, and with a pretty bad vibration.

We made it back, but on the way there I kept getting P0753 check engine code...

Trans level is full and pink. Trans temps were right around 150 degrees.

What do you think guys? Is my transmission history?
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P0753 is a electrical code, so I don't believe the trans is gone. That's the 1-2 shift solenoid. I suspect it went out. Do you have any other codes? Do you have a DVOM, digital volt ohm meter? If so we can test a few things. The only problem is, you will need to remove the transmission to change the solenoid.

You can remove the solenoid by removing the side cover, but it is a very involved process.

Wont he need to lower the transmission to get the side cover off? There's not a lot of room with the brake lines there.

You are correct. The cradle needs to be lowered, but the trans can stay in the vehicle.

Ah, thanks for the tips guys. Good to know my trans isn't totally dead anyway. I don't have any kind of tools along the lines you mentioned, but a failed shift solenoid would explain it's weird 1-2 behavior.

I'll have to give this some thought. What a pain though!
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I would be interested in seeing how that is done. I know when I dropped mine I split the sub frame and remove the drivers side. But it was still a tight fit past the brake lines.

Do you think it would be worth throwing in some SeaFoam trans tune in to see if it frees up the solenoid?
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I don't believe that will do it, but will see what Steve has to say.

If you have a solenoid electrical code, the solenoid has "failed" electrically or has come disconnected or has a computer problem, so I don't feel that ANY additive in this situation will be at all helpful.

Don't forget that when we remove a side cover, the car is on the lift and yes, it can be a little tight. But it is a lot easier to remove the side cover than to remove the whole trans.

Thanks for the input guys, it was worth a try anyway. I don't think I can do this one myself (don't have a lift or access to one) so I guess I'll have to tow it up to the AAMCO and let them work on it. Wouldn't trust them for a rebuild but I bet they can handle a simple solenoid.
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I'd call around before I brought the car in.

Oh for sure, I just figured AAMCO cause everyone I've talked to says they tend to be the cheapest.

Any idea (just a general figure would work) how much a shop might charge so I can begin planning this out? Shops aren't open today.
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They are FAR from the cheapest! I would guess 6 hours labor plus parts and fluid.

Well, I ended up towing it up to the Buick/Cadillac dealership. Cheaper than AAMCO!
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Keep us posted.

Just got a price quote, it will need a new solenoid, they had to order it but they hope to get it done Wednesday or Thursday. $659 for the repair, and that includes their diagnostic service. Seems fair? Does to me. AAMCO charged more per hour for labor.
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I don't know what trans your car has, but if it has a 4T65-E, make sure that they install a new Electronic Pressure Control Solenoid while they have the side cover off.

It's a 4T60E, thankfully! No pesky PCS to worry about, although I suppose now, that's really of very little comfort.
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Well, I tried!

Well, I got my car back! Dead 1-2 shift solenoid for sure. Replaced it and honored their estimate.

I didn't really know what all had to be done to drop the subframe, so I had asked them about an estimate to replace the front shock mounts cause they are shot, if they were easy to get to. Turned out they weren't, and the additional I didn't really want to pay right now, so I declined the service.

Anyway this all is leading up to just how awesome this dealership is...they recently acquired the "Buick-GMC" title in addition to Chevrolet so I thought I'd take my car there for service. Wow, I'm definitely going back again. Here's what all they did for me that they certainly didn't have to:

They went the extra mile to extract as much of the old transmission fluid as possible, instead of just what drains out the pan. They had to use Dexron III to be able to honor their warranty on the service, but wow, my car has never shifted so nice! It's like a brand new car, with 164,000 miles...no kidding!

My car sat there for a couple of days while they were waiting for the shift solenoid to come in. They informed me when I came to pick it up that on the test drive to diagnose the problem they had noticed that the struts up front did make a fair amount of noise over bumps. In their spare time between jobs, they went over to my car and had a few glances at the front suspension...shot a little grease in a few places and tightened a few things and wow! They are still the same old nasty mounts (covered in trans fluid to reduce noise, lol) but now they make no noise at all, and my car genuinely feels tighter and less sloppy over bumps. And they didn't charge me anything for it!

Altogether, they honored their original estimate and with tax I paid $669.

Anyway, Glenn Smith Buick-Chevrolet-GMC is great! I will be bringing my car/truck there anytime there is a repair I can't/don't want to do.
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It looks to me as you were taken care of very well.