GMC Repair: Transmission problems, buick regal gs, buick regal

Question
I have a 98 Buick Regal GS with 180000 miles on it. When I got into the car this morning, I drove down the street for about a mile before stopping at an intersection. The transmission downshifted normally but when I accelerated the tranny didn't upshift out of first gear. After a couple of blocks, the transmission quit. I tried to shift into other gears but it wouldn't go into any of them. After sitting for a couple of minutes the car shifted into gear and I drove off. Again, a couple of blocks down the street, the tranny quit again. This time I couldn't get the car into gear at all. There were no unusual sounds coming out of the car and there wasn't any indication that the transmission was going bad. I checked the fluid and the fuse under the hood and they're both okay. My question - is there a module of some sort that could cause this kind of problem or is this a typical failure mode for transmissions now days?

Thanks - Dave

Answer
I am going thru this same thing with my dodge truck. what does your fluid look and smell like? is it foamy, have bubbles? have you ever had the transmission serviced or torque converter flushed? if not you should do this yearly. Considering the mileage. this could go either way. how long have you had the vehicle? there is a control module on the inside, along with a wiring harness. do you have access to autozone or a code scanner. if so, scan, and tell me what it says. autozone will do this for free.