Well It appears that i need a new tranny after 175k. Mine wont shift into 3rd. 1st to 2nd is fine but it feels like it disengages 2nd gear and then wont engage into 3rd. I took it to a shop and they want 400 just to tell me what is wrong. I dont mind doing the work myself but i dont know what im doing.
So here is the deal. I live in austin, My buddy lives in houston. He has the shop and the tools. He is going to help me either replace my transmission with a rebuilt or used one. We have thought about rebuilding it ourselves, but he and I both agree we dont know enough about the automatics that we would need someone who has done it to help out.
So here are my questions:
1 - where do I even start looking for a reliable transmission (new or rebuilt), and how much should i look to pay. We are VERY strapped for cash for various reasons but the economy is not helping.
2 - Is there anyone in the North Houston/Tomball/Magnolia area that has some xperience in rebuilding an automatic transmission that wouldn't mind helping rebuild this transmission.

Here are some details.
99 SCab, V6, Pretty much everything is stock with the exception of the radio.175K miles.

Thanks for any ideas.