Dodge Repair: Caravan 3.3 Transmission limp mode, solenoid pack, speed sensors


Question
Russell,
I own a 3.3 Caravan 95. The transmission woks fine early in the morning, my wife takes the kids to school at 8AM, no problem going and returning. She picks them up at 1:30 PM (school is about 4 miles) no problem, but when she starts the engine to to come back home. Transmission goes to limp mode.
There is a fuse on the fuse box of the left of the engine compartment, I installed a switch instead of the fuse. And every time the transmission goes to limp mode, without turning the engine off, I press the switch two or three times and the limp mode goes away, the limp mode could or not come back for the rest of the trip. I check this by moving the lever from N to D, if there is a shock, is on limp, if the change is smooth, it is not on limp mode.
Already tried this fixes on several small shops, no at the dealer: change input speed sensor, change input and output speed sensors connectors, changed 8 pins solenoid pack connector, changed solenoid pack for a rebuilt one (thing I will tried another), tried another used TCM, checked grounds on TCM connector, changed transmission relay, cleaned and adjusted crankcase position sensor, checked and cleaned started key switch of steering column, cleaned battery posts, transmission hardness checked for continuity, cleaned and checked neutral sw and lever position sw, (the diagram says one of the three pins should go to ground, but none of them did, but checked other used sw and they were the same) changed oil and filter (ATF+4), when changed oil some small parts of a bearing were found, the transmission was rebuilt, but torque converted and oil cooler were not flushed (just blast compressed air), I did the disassembly and didn´t found other metal chips inside the transmission housing, the assembly was made by a small shop,
There are another two symptoms. Before this started. When stopped in a traffic light a couple of times a sudden noise as if another car has hit the back, this went away with the oil changed. The other symptom, the engine does not start right away, the first time, the starter works, but the engine doesn´t. But if we wait the engine check light to turn off before turn the key to start, then the engine starts immediately I haven´t been able to find a shop with the upper level scanner. They only have a small scanner and all it says is a problem with the solenoids. Hope you have seen something similar and could help me on this, Thanks

Answer
All the symtoms you listed indicate an internal transmission problem. The shops you've been going to are just grabbing at straws hoping that what they are replacing will fix the problem. You will need to take it to either a dealership or a reputable transmission repair shop for diagnosis and repair. They will have the needed scanners and experience to diagnose your transmission concern.