[V8] transmission woes solved! Was transmission woes part duex

[J123fs@aol.com]

Hey all,   
Good news, and with  mucho thanks to Scott (SuffolkD) for the use of his 
Vag-com and his analytical  skills. Enjoy the Bourbon bro! 
Anyway, moisture WAS  the issue after all.  
Here is the run  down: 
Car was in limp home  mode after exposure to much rain (14 or so inches here 
in NH)........ 
......anyway, I was  pretty close to giving it a Viking as I could not blink 
out the codes (on  fire and heading down a boat ramp), but cooler minds 
prevailed, and we have  figured out why I could not blink out said codes. 
Thought maybe a  corrupted connection; issues with my 5 grand rebuild; or 
other mysterious issues  where causing the problems....so here is where Scott 
comes in and offers his  Vag-Com and computer to hook up and see if we can pull 
the codes. 
After  we hooked up the computer and ran quite few tests we realized two 
things: the  error code for the Motronic not jiving with the transmission was 
present. We  toggled on and off the ignition quite a few times (many) and finally 
got a read  from the transmission, and there was an internal ECU error with 
the memory. We  also got a short to ground reading from the Motronic in the 
engine to  transmission connection. 
The  sound of the relay clicking was still a mystery at this point 
This  led us to believe we had an issue with the ECU. Good call. 
A  quick call to Chris Semple confirmed he had a trans ECU, and the off I  
went.
ECU  in hand and the kids safely to bed, I pulled the old out and put in the 
new. 
Upon  removal of the old and tilting it 90 degrees the 1/2 cup of water the 
poured out  like Niagara! Eureka! 
The  ECU had soooo much water; the relay noise was an internal short circuit, 
and  completely explains why the ECU would not read anything out as it was 
Kaput. 
The  culprit was the Hood release cable boot next to the hood drain, leaking  
water to the driver side of the ECU, and filling it. Instant short,  rusted 
board, limp home. 
Mucho  silicon caulk and sealing was done and test drive confirming 
everything a-ok. 
Must  have happened before (water causing short) because the car does not 
hesitate on  any shifts as it did before.
All  is well that ends well. I will not send the car down the boat ramp.
Thanks  to all who helped, and thanks Scott!
-Jack