95 Intrepid Tranny Issue

Ok so you folks here have been an awesome resource for info repairing my ailing cars. Her is another try.
My 95 Intrepid started going into limp mode this spring. I can drive the car normally for the first five minutes of the day when it starts out cold then it switches to limp mode. I can, as you would expect, shutoff the car and restart it, resetting the TCM, but it goes right back to limp mode when it shifts out of first gear. To compound things, when it is in limp mode it is as if the gears or something is not meshing completely because I can barely start off from a dead stop or go up a slight hill. When I am getting going first thing in the morning the tranny works perfectly (for the first 5 minutes anyway).
I am aware of it being any one of the sensors, the TCM, or the solenoid pack. Being that I am supporting a family, expendable funds are far and few between so I had hoped I could get some insight as to where to start looking before I had to shell out money just for diagnosing this.
Any input would be much appreciated.