Poor Running in Drive and Reverse

I am working on a 2005 Escape with a 3.0L engine the condition that has come up is that it will start and hold an idle in Park and Neutral. As soon as the transmission is put in Reverse or any of the forward gears (D/3/2/1) it will begin to run very rough or will stall out completely. Any input as to where to begin looking is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

what have you done so far? did you put new plugs on the car? is there and engine code? need a little more info.

What are the rpm,s at when in park. Check tranny fluid level also and do you have a check engine light?

No check engine light and a buddy has narrowed it down through his research to a torque converter lock out solenoid. Only problem is that he is not sure where the solenoid is located. Does any one know where to locate it and is there a diagram available ? Thanks

It is a 2005 with a 2.3L cylinder auto 4 wheel drive. ( This is not my vehicle but it belongs to a friend who asked us to look into this.)

By the way we started it yesterday morning and it ran at a normal idle but when put in drive it wanted to lunge forward and then the idle got rough.

Thanks again for your input.

in the tranny pan. If it was bad I am guessing that you would have a code. Most of the time a P0740 code. Also if it was bad you would have no power at a start and no overdrive. Most of the time it is a problem with something else and not the solenoid its self. I would change the fluid first and see what that does.