Car is Toast?

Ok, my father has a 1995 Ford Contour. He had a transmission leak, so he finally discovered where it was coming from. There is a plate that covers...something or other on the transmission. It's made of cast steel, not the same thing as the rest of the transmission. Anyway, it had 2 pinholes in it. He tried everything under the sun to plug/patch/repair those holes but once the car heated up and the fluid got running, it was just too much pressure and it leaked again. We have talked to Ford, who said well, we'll just send it away to fix it and by the way, leave your left arm for payment. They knew nothing. We talked to the local transmission shop guy who said Noooo way, don't know anything about those and don't want to. Regardless of the stupid pin holes, now the damn thing won't shift. It does nothing. He thinks it might be the torque converter now. *sigh* Any ideas other than a shotgun?

Do you have access to a digital camera so you could take some pictures of where the pinholes are located?

Is your's a 4 cyl or V6? My '95 V6 has leaked transmission fluid for the past 3 years. It comes from a small cover at the bottom of the transmission. I haven't noticed any pin holes. Adding tranny fluid and some stop leak from time to time seems to take care of it.