transmission problems

I have the 1994 JGCL with the 5.2 L. I've never had a transmission slip or had a torque converter go out so I don't know if whats happening are symptoms. I took off for work a few mornings ago and I stopped on a hill at a light and when I went to take off there was no power in the transmission. To my surprise the Jeep just rolled backwards like it was in neutral. I held the brake and floored it and it caught. Other times I will go to take off and give it gas to go and nothing and then like someone hit me from behind the transmission catches and lunges forward and takes off.

once your engine is up to speed, check your transmission fluid dipstick while transmission is in neutral and see what the color of the fluid is and what the level is. Sounds like your fluid is low and you have cavitation.

I checked the fluid. It smells like burnt wiring and looks the color of black coffee. I know it's supposed to be red. Maybe a fluid flush will do it? I'm going to change the filter in a few days, anything I should look for in the pan?

make sure you also don't have big chunks of metal in your pan. Some flakes is ok, but a lot means your gears are being sheared. One question I must ask you is when you go from R to D, do you wait until the car is completly stopped before changing gears? Also, when you change your fluid, go back to Chrysler and use Mopar ATF+4, the only approved fluid for all Chrysler vehicles.

I never shift fron D-R or R-D without being at full stop. I can't speak for the person who owned it before me though. I've only had it for 6 months and have all ready changed fuel pump, filter and crank shaft postioning sensor.

how many miles do you currently have? The only downside to your transmission is that they have a service life of about 120,000-160,000 miles. After that, they're just big paperweights and need a rebuild. Some go before that. Another thing to look for if you have metal flakes in your pan, your torque converter is starting to rip itself apart and if so, that's not good.