sad news...
I finally took the truck in to the trans shop. After going over all the options, I finally gave permission for them to drop the trans. Turns out, yes it is the valve body, but also the clutches were cooked, and 2 check balls were stuck. You could see the indent on the plate. They said it still ran well, considering everything they found. They are rebuilding it, updating w/sonnax, this afternoon. $1200. I guess I knew it was coming. Hopefully this is one less headache for us now. Just about anything else that goes wrong, we can do ourseves. But trannys are a no-no.
And, while it was up on the rack, I noticed a fresh oil leak.......I hope it's not where it appears to be..the oil pan!