I have (had) a 1988 SL w/2.8 FWD. Driving through the mountains it started slipping out of gear @ 40ish mph. Immediately turned around and coasted into a little town. Tranny fluid was low. Bought the store out, filled up, headed back home. Couple miles later slipped out again. Once again fluid was low. Topped it off drove a couple miles etc... It was a twisty road so I kept the speed down to in the 30's. When I got it to where it was safe to look under it I had a massive leak out of the drivers side seal. Replaced it filled back up w/ fluid. Now 1st and second shift into fine but it won't go to 3rd. At 40mph it slips out and I have to coast down to 32 before 2nd will reengage. On a steep hill I coasted up to 55 but 4th wouldn't engage either. I'm a poor college student and need a ride to class but can't afford a shop. So:

Anyone know how i can tell what tranny it would have? I'm getting mixed info off the web and NAPA's database.
Would the 1st thing to check be the filter?
2nd Are the bands adjustable from the outside?
3rd anything I could check before either dropping money on a shop or sending it to the junkyard?

Any help would be a life saver.

 

Finally got a chance to start looking at this again. Any ideas?