transmission or something less expensive?

I have taken my 2000 mercury cougar to one place so far and they said it's my transmission, When I'm driving, it seems like the car is going to stop or it's skipping gears. Is there are more simple way to solve this? or can anyone refer me to a cheap transmission?

In my experience about half of all auto trans problems do not need a rebuild to fix. They can be fixed by simply checking the fluid level, or doing some basic maintenance like a fluid and filter change, or scanning the trans computer for trouble codes (if applicable).

Sure these remedies are not going to work about half the time, but they are so much cheaper than a rebuilt transmission IMO they are worth the risk.