Volkswagen Repair: VW 1999.5 Jetta Transmission Issue, jetta 2, switching gears

Question
I have a 1999.5 Jetta 2.0 Liter 4-cylinder GL with an automatic transmission
and 146573 miles on it.  Today I noticed that when accelerating, during the
shift between 2nd and 3rd gear the vehicle will be at about 2800 RPMs and as
it makes the move to 3rd gear, the vehicle will "jump" forward and, depending
on how fast I am accelerating, the RPMs may jump anywhere between 3400
and 4600 RPMs.  It's almost as if the transmission is not "catching" as fast as
it used to.  At first, I thought it was just a "hiccup" but it has been
consistently happening between 2nd and 3rd gear.  Usually, there is a slight
lurch/jump when switching gears, but this is VERY noticable.  Nothing is
noticable when the automatic transmission is shifting between other gears,
either up or down.  There are no indicator lights on the vehicle indicating any
problems picked up by the internal computer.  This is a new occurance and I
just picked up the car from the body shop today after another car damaged
the front passenger fender (cosmetic fender bender).

Answer
The transmission is "cross-leaking" in the valve body.  There is no easy, simple, or inexpensive repair.  The transmission needs to be rebuilt, or replaced, or it will fail and leave you stranded someday, tomorrow, or next year, but it will fail.  If you have the transmission rebuilt, use only a shop familiar with the "FDF" transmission, which you have.  They MUST use a "super-master" rebuild kit, and replace ALL of the "soft" pieces, but they must also replace the bushings, and flush the valve body, and THOROUGHLY clean ALL of the electronic shift solenoids.  If they have a good reputation for Volkswagen transmission repair, I would consider them.  If they ask you more questions than you ask them, then find another shop.  The "FDF" transmission has to have clean fluid to operate correctly, and once they begin to fail, it doesn't matter what you do, they will never improve with inexpensive, miracle chemical fixes, and filter changes, they have to be rebuilt.  This has nothing to do with the "fender bender," or it's repair.  This is a notorious recurring problem that my shop sees up to 5 times a week.  The next best place to go to get the thing fixed is the local best Volkswagen dealer, but you need to ask around about them too.  Some of them are allowed to do trans. work, and some are not!  Good luck.  Hope this helps you get started on the right path.