Grinding noise in 1st gear

[HBKracker]

I have a 97 Achieva, 4 cyl, 2.4L, automatic.

When I am accelerating from a stop, or very slow roll, I hear a grinding noise coming from the front of the car somewhere. It only does this when I punch the gas too hard, like when the transmission is under a higher load than normal driving. It seems to only do this in first gear, and it sounds like a manual transmission when someone grinds the gears.

PLEASE, help if you can. This forum is great, I just registered, but it has helped me with a few problems over the last 3 years. Thanks for any info