97 cutlass tranny

hey all.
97 supreme with 62k 2 door 3.1L
my tranny pan is a little wet so im gonna do a filter change, and new fluid and gasket. and im hoping it will make it shift a bit better. all gears are smooth exept first to second. it kinda fells like the car jumps. sometimes not real bad and sometime pretty good. im sure its the 1-2 valve or solinoid i keep reading about that is common with these trannys. any one ever changed this out? is it that bad to do?

The trans side cover has to be removed to access the solenoids, not an easy job, the axle must come out and it is possible the subframe may have to be lowered to gain access.