Transmission question.

[trackster]

Have a 200-4R trans.  It seems like the converter is locking in all gears.  Idle speed is set at 800 rpm and idles nice in park and neutral.   When put in gear, reverse or drive, it wants to bog to the point of dying if I do not give it gas.   It shifts fine up thru the gears.   My question is will I damage anything if I unplug the torque converter lock up and drive it that way for a few weeks until I can take a look at it?  It has a TCI lockup kit,  installed several years ago.  Wondering if the solenoid is bad.   Thanks for any insight you can offer.

[wayne petty]

until somebody with more transmission knowledge than i have answers..

usually there is a 3 and/or a 4th gear pressure switch on the valve body that prevents the lock up circuit from being complete.. these switches close to complete the circuit when its in 3 or 4th gear..  if the switch has failed and is closing all the time you could have a failure like you describe.  

you could actually have a solenoid mechanical failure.. it has happened..  and usually UNplugging the electrical connector does NOT work..  125C and 440T4s were known for this issue..

unplugging can help..  disconnecting the power to that circuit is better..

replacement TCC solenoids and pressure switches are the usual fix..

jacking the drive wheels up so they can spin.. jack stands.  when you apply the brake .. if the engine stalls when you the transmission in gear.. is a sign of TCC solenoid failure..

please try to idle the engine at a lower speed.. see if it still has an issue..

if you have the  primary throttle open too far and are exposing more than a fraction of an inch of the idle transition slot.. you will have issues similar to your description..  i have images if you are not hip on the idle transition circuit..

i cannot imagine that it will happen in reverse.. that is why i am hoping somebody deeper into transmission fluid flows than i am can answer..
you could actually have a torque converter failing if it hangs up in reverse..

here is a link to the installation instructions.. since the direct TCI link did not work.

http://news.compperformance.com/Instructions/376600.pdf

great trouble shooting FAQ's on those pages..