Now that you're in front of the firing squad, it's time to drop some knowledge on your fix-it guy. Tell him what the car's doing. Then tell him what you found out when you inspected the transmission. If there's a leak, let him know where and how much is leaking.
Time for a rebuild?
When your transmission gets tired enough, you'll have to have it rebuilt. It's true. For some makes and models of car, it's true a little too often, but that's neither here nor there. The important thing is checking any other possible causes to your problem before you take the transmission apart, which is very expensive. If you haven't replaced your filter yet, do it! This fixes a nice percentage of transmission problems. If your filter is good, and nothing simple is out of adjustment, be prepared to drop some serious dough on the rebuild. The good news is that most shops warrantee a transmission rebuild for a nice amount of time. A small consolation as your handing over the credit card, but at least you know that it will get fixed and stay fixed.
