Oldsmobile/Buick Repair: 1994 oldsmobile cutlass, oldsmobile cutlass, olds cutlass

Question
The engine is a 3.1 Liter, it is a 1994 Olds Cutlass Wagon (I'm not sure if it is a Ciera or Cruiser),with overdrive. The problem is with the transmission. From literature that I have read on this general type of GM product, they put a sensor in the casing of the tranny that is an electronic sensor, this is my suspect part. The car never refuses or labours when the driver engages the car in either reverse or forward (I even experimented once by taking off in OD). The problem arises on cold or very cool days when it is time for the tranny to change itself from 1st into 2nd and once that is accomlished from 2nd to 3rd. It will resist the change to the point where I am sometimes travellling at around 40 KM/hr and still am in 1st gear. When it finally does change gears, the "idiot" light has come on and the spedometer doesn't work. As I procede down the street, the car may or may not change smooothly into 3rd gear, during the time that I am driving with the "idiot" light on the car resists taking off from a dead stop. As the car heats up to normal operating temp., the speedometer begins to work erratically, bouncing around and falling to 0 Km/hr when foot taken off gas pedal. Another strange thing is that if I pull over and restart the car sometimes it will work perfectly (including the speedometer) and sometimes the "idiot" light will come back on. I have had a few cars in my lifetime, and have driven some with bad transmissions before and have lost certain gears and even blew a few of them up. I have never encountered such a large array of symptoms for tranny problems, I don't understand electronics and that is why I am leaning towards blaming the sensor for these problems.
Could you shed any light on this problem for me please?
Sorry to have dragged on so long,
Thank You in advance,
David Rogers

Answer
hi dave,you are exactly right a bad trans is bad forever not intermittantly.this sensor is called a lockout torque switch and can cause the car to act diff when you turn key off and restart .you can start bye unplugging this sensor. but dave i believe why so confuseing is you have two problems here.that sensor.and there is something going on with the throttlevalve cable comeing from the trans to the eng.there is an adjustment here on this cable loosen and drive if no change or worse move cable the other way a few notches at a time and drive again until you get the shift pattern you want. and as for the speedo this may solve this prob or you may have a vss prob speed sensor.good luck please vote for me billymac