Please help rpm issue

It started today...when i left my house i noticed i would press on the accelerator and the rpms would shoot up past 3500 close to 4000....now
i had barley pushed on the gas...i let up for a second and the rpm needle came down hard...to about 1000 and kinda bonced and settled in at 2000 now i gently push on the gas and the car picks up speed...now i pretty sure it starts to pick up speed but the rpm needle hovers around 2000 to 2500 and i can feel it change gears....my car is a 99 escort dual overhead cam...not the zx2....any suggestions...to me it feels like its not getting air...

check the tranny fluid. it's either low or so dirty it's making the valve body stick. or the tranny is already burnt up.

Update: well i think its the trans. i drove on the expressway and the engine was reving high like if i had it in low gear...it won't go past 50mph
and at the speed the rpms are at 3500 but the engine doesn't sound to good....

time to start shopping for a good mechanic. have you ever had the tranny fluid/filter changed?? for most vehicles i recomend changing them every 50,000 miles. but in your case something tells me that won't help.