Ford Repair: 89 ford ranger tranny, vacuum hoses, 89 ford ranger

Question
This past saturday when i started my truck, a puff of white/grey smoke came out of the tailpipe (this has never happened before). I immediately assumed i had a bad ring.  however, monday the tranny didnt want to shift into gear. So i started thinking maybe i have a bad modulator and the tranny fluid got sucked into the engine thru the vac line. Is this possible? and is the modulator the "thing" i see sticking out of the rear of the tranny on the driver side?

thanks for any help you can provide

Answer
Yes, the modulator could be your problem. Check the vacuum hoses at the engine, see if any are swollen or wet. Without knowing the engine it's difficult to tell you where to look, somewhere on the intake manifold, usually to the rear and the tube runs down the back of the engine. I haven't seen this old a Ranger for a while, so I don't recall if the modulator is left or right, but it is on the rear of the trans, and of course has a vacuum hose attached. If you replace it yourself be careful of the pin that fits into the center, it may fall out and you need it when installing the new one.