99 Regal LS hesitation up hill?

Hi,
I have a 99 Buick Regal LS 3.8L engine with 185,000 miles. Looks and runs like new until recently when I started having a bucking-hesitation when going up hills. When accelaration needs to be applied it bucks until the tranny kicks down a gear and accelaration picks up.

Also, I noticed that when starting the car, it starts easily but bucks a bit after the engine fires and starts.

Looking for a place to start.

Thanks.

I would start with plugs & wires & don't skimp when buying wires. ACDELCO, MSD or Belden are the ones to use!

I agree with HotZ28. The place to start with a buck/hesitation is tune-up parts. They're regular maintenance items so it won't be wasted money even if it doesn't cure the issue and it ends up being trans related.

Thanks, I'll give that a try.