I've searched a lot, so I apologize if this has been covered before. I have a 97 F150 w/ 5.4L Auto 4x4 offroad. It has 102K miles. It's actually done this since I bought it at 60k, but I thought I might address it during some 100k maintenance.

The problem: 1-2 shift is fine. After that, it seems like it hits 3rd, OD, and TC lock (assuming it does that), all at the same time. There's nothing real gradual or staged about it. If I accelerate harder, then it might hang on to 2nd a little longer. But, with normal driving, the 2-3 jump is very quick. Sometimes it's only a second or two after changing to 2nd.

The next thing, related or not, is that if I'm coasting at some speed (say 40mph) and accelerate a little, the engine revs 200-300rpm for a second and then drops back down and starts to accelerate. It's not changing gears; but maybe the OC to TC lock is disengaging/re-engaging? It's minor, but it's much more noticeable since I added the dual exhaust last year. The rpm surge is recognizable.

Anything I can do or check? Or, is this the way it is? I know I can probably by a chip to fix or improve it, but, I'd like to know if this is normal or a problem.