I think all the T37 auto tranmissions are like that as they age. I know that
the ones in my c900's are quite 'hard' when engaging any of the forward gear
selections, and sometimes for reverse too. I think a lot of that is actually
caused by wear in the driveline components causing a higher degree of
free-play than when new.

This is probably going to be particularly significant for the inner CV's as
the tripod-bearings start to wear, and it might have some contribution from
the differential gearing inside the transmission itself.

As for the slipping, one of my cars (the white 1983 900S) has an annoying
amount of that when first driven in cold weather (for Australia, that's
anything below about 10 C) until the engine and transmission warm up. I've
had the transmission get so weak that it'll push the car up the slight grade
in the road outside my house at nothing more than a few km/hr even though
the revs are up around the 1500 to 2000 point. 8-)

One reason I want to dump the auto trans for a manual is that slippage. But
replacing the auto with another auto or a manual is out of the question
while I don't have funds to get that done (or to buy the parts and do it
myself).

Craig.