I have a 95 F150 4x4 with a 5.8l and 113,000 on it. As of recently the check engine light has been coming on more frequently and staying on longer as well. Most of the time when this happens the shifts between 1st & 2nd are very hard.
Second problem I have is that the transmission seems to shift sooner than I would expect and it struggles to downshift when pickup is required. Particularly out of overdrive.
Any thoughts would be greatly apprieciated.

 

You need to find out what code has been stored in the computer's memory. That will tell you where to start looking.