Sorry for the huge post but thought I should give the full backstory...
I have read more than few threads about the transmission issues with the 4t65e. I wasn't having any issues with my trans ('05 GPGT) until the weather turned hot. I started having the hard shift problem mentioned by quite a few people. It would always happen whenever I had to slow down but not come to a complete stop. When I would hit the gas again it would take a half second for the gear to catch causing it shift hard. It also does it sometimes from a complete stop. At first it was only doing this when the car was fully warmed up. It is now doing sometimes when the car is completely cool.
This past winter I had to replace my radiator because the pipes for the trans fluid were cracked. I had the trans fluid changed in case it had coolant mixed in with it. Like an idiot I didn't check my fluid level after the repairs were done. When I started having the hard shift problems I checked the fluid and noticed it was quite a bit overfilled...a little over quart. I siphoned the excess fluid out to get it back to a normal level. I had put less than 10K miles on this fluid and it was already black and smelled burned. I noticed when I checked the dipstick that there were bubbles so the fluid probably foamed up causing it to break down prematurely. I siphoned more fluid out and threw a bottle of Lucas Stop Slip in there. This has helped but I still get hard shifts (not quite as bad or as frequent as before).
On to the questions!!
Is the trans toast or can it be the torque converter or some other part?
Should I just try pan drop fluid change (not flush) first? If I do this I will have a shift kit installed at the same time.
I can't afford a trans rebuild so if that's the case I am going to trade the car in and let the dealership deal with it. If I have to keep it I plan on putting in a shift kit and trans cooler as a last ditch effort.
I was thinking of trading in to a G8. Are there any known issues with these like the trans problems on the GP's?
Thanks for reading and any suggestions you can give!!!