i rebuilt my first 440t4 transmission in my 1989 cutlass ciera. after putting everything back together i have reverse but NONE of my forward gears work. if i rev the engine the transmission will move forward a few inches (in any forward gear). does any one have any ideas on what i should look at first.

Did you tear one of the seals for the tubes? Is the band in place and anchored properly? Is the low servo seal in place?

If you have reverse, that means your input clutch is working, so there an issue with the low band not applying.

its is possible that a seal could have torn. i did try and be super careful just for that reason.
i did fail to mention that when i cranked the car up the first time after installing transmission the radiator over heated. i only ran the car a few minutes before the radiator cap start spewing coolant every where...question is could the transmission fluid have over heated and sending the transmission into over normal operating temperature, if so could this have blown a valve body gasket or any other gasket that could effect all forward gears?

I don't think that you ran it long enough to do any damage.

What about the seals on the side of the valve body? They had a lot of problems with them.

i replaced the two seals that the servo pipes go into.

But did they tear?

no, i was super careful putting those pipes in.

after rebuilding my 440t4 i have notice that i do not have 2nd,3rd,4th and very little 1st that is if i rev the engine. if i unplug my vacuum modulator then all my forward gears work just fine...why is my transmission working like it is suppose to when i unplug my vacuum modulator? i do not see any trans fluid in the vacuum line..