Battery Died, now speedometer and odometer aren't working

Hi all...I am brand new here. I did try a search of my issue, and came up with nothing. I hope this isn't a repeat.

I have a 2000 Ford Windstar. I have ALWAYS had a slip of the transmission, even when it was brand new. It has been fine until now.

Here is exactly what happened...

The ignition was left on all night, so in the morning the battery was dead. My husband jumped it. When he put the cables on my battery, the Speedometer, and the RPM thing (sorry, don't know the word) both went all the way up, and then back down. It took a minute for the battery (brand new) to juice up, and then the car started. OK...now, the odometer is now just a series of dashes ------ no numbers, and the speedometer is not working at all. The RPM thing is working, but now the car is barely moving. The RPMs go WAY up, but it never actually kicks in to gear. Now, before this, I would have to drive for about 60 seconds, while the RPMs went up, and then it would kick into gear. I can't imagine it isn't all related, since before the dead battery, none of this was happening. Any suggestions before I call my mechanic?

Start looking for a blown fuse. Check in the fuse panel in the van and the fuse box in the engine compartment!

Hi,
I had a fuse blow on my 2000 Windstar (it is located by your feet on driver's side) and the odometer went all dashes and the rear blower stayed blowing high. The fuse blew due to the brake pressure switch leak. replaced switch and fuse, everything fine. As for your transmission, has the fluid filter ever been replaced? Not that hard to do, many posts on here on how to do it. Even if you don't tow anything think about a transmission cooler, not expensive and adds miles onto your transmission.