Transmission/Waterpump ???

My 1992 Sable has been running really hot and the transmission has be dumping all of the tranny fluid out of it's over flow. I have been needing to continually replace the lost fluid. I looked around under the hood and found that the water pump is going out, or has gone...
My question is can a dead water pump affect the tranny like this or do I still need to continue looking for the problem with the tranny and replace the water pump?

If your water pump is gone it can definitely affect your transmission. If your engine is overheating due to a bad water pump/coolant loss ect. ect., it can cause the transmission to overheat. This could boil the transmission fluid and make it leak from the overflow. Transmission fluid will expand when it is heated (this is why the manufacturer recommends checking tranny fluid when the tranny is at normal operating temperature), also, overheated transmission fluid loses it's ability to do it's job efficiently which will cause severe damage to your transmissions seals, clutches and bearings. I recommend getting your water pump changed, and then flush the old fluid from your tranny and replace with new fluid ASAP! The lifespan of tranny fluid is cut in HALF each time it is overheated, if the recommended fluid change for your transmission is 100,000 miles, it would become 50,000 miles if it were overheated once, if overheated a second time the fluid should be changed at 25,000 miles ect... ect... Hope this info helps!

The transmission fluid actually goes into the radiator core to help with cooling. Also, there is smaller transmission oil cooler near the radiator.

Okay I have replaced the water pump, and I took it for a drive, everything was fine, no transmission leak, then the car shot straight up past the red on the temp gauge and dumped all the water, it took me almost 15 minutes to cool it off to the point I could turn it off.

Did I do something wrong when I installed the water pump?

Any thoughts?

You would be shocked how crazy your thermistat can act, I have even had new ones stick shut and the release, they are cheep and easy to replace just a few dollars. Some times new ones are only good for a year. Some people say to change them every year, I don't change them until my cars act like yours or don't throw heat at all. Give it a go.