I'm also having a problem with the transmission in my 97 Taurus. It has a 3.0 in it. It will shift hard into second gear almost giving you whip-lash when it is cold out but once the transmission warms up it seems fine. I'm also wondering if the torque converter is not kicking in. Does any one know their RPM range while going about 60 mph? Mine is running at about 2300rpm. Does this sound like a normal operating range or should it be down by the 2000rpm range. I just bought this car so I don't know much about it.